No fee hike, students to pay back IIM-A when they earn

In a first, graduating students from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A) have decided to pledge Rs 200 per month in favour of the institute from their salaries for one year. 

“For the first time, students of the outgoing batch of 2012-14 at IIM-A have pledged a monthly commitment of Rs 200. This is commendable because they are doing it even before they have received their first pay cheque,” said Ashish Nanda, director, IIM-A.

The institute had a 2012-14 graduating batch size of 429 students for its flagship management programme, 85 for its postgraduate programme for executives and 10 for its fellow programme in management. 

In a similar gesture in 2010, students from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B), had launched a fund-raising drive called ‘Give one for IIT-Bombay’ where  every alumnus, part of the voluntary movement, pledged 1 per cent of their salary to IIT-B every month. IIT-B planned  to use the funds to meet various needs such as infrastructure, joining bonus for faculty, green initiatives on the campus or a benevolent fund for the faculty members and staff. 

IIM-A has also said it will not increase fee for its flagship management programme for the next academic year. IIM-B has also decided not to hike fee for the next academic year. 

“Even though costs are biting us, we are appreciative of what the students have to pay. So, we are not going to hike the fee,” said Nanda. 

The IIMs had told Business Standard last month that given the inflationary trends and drop in the number of students taking the Common Admission Test (CAT), they might not increase the fee at all or do so by a small measure.

We consider three factors while determining the fees. Affordability for students and their parents is certainly important. We also need to consider inflation and our costs for delivering a quality programme. And we also keep in mind the salary package students are able to receive upon graduation as it is an indicator of their ability to repay loans and fulfil financial obligations incurred to pursue the programme,”  IIM-B director incharge Devanath Tirupati had said. IIM-B charges Rs 17 lakh for its flagship management programme. 

“A fee increase is decided by the board. However, I don't think there is an appetite for a fee increase. The number of people taking the CAT has not been increasing. Even if the fee goes up, it would not be beyond any correction for inflation, which is around 8-10 per cent. We will try to be efficient and absorb as much a cost increase as we can,” said Rishikesha T Krishnan, director, IIM Indore.