Two months after the Union human resource ministry's decree to the six premier management institutes, asking them to slash the student fees by 80 per cent, the Indian Institutes of Management are falling in line with the government order.
Already, the IIMs-Calcutta, Kozhikode, Lucknow and Indore have decided cut the fees -- from Rs 150,000 to Rs 30,000 -- as per the directive from the Human Resource Development Minister Dr Murli Manohar Joshi.
While IIM-Ahmedabad, which has vociferously argued against the fee cut, is yet to take a decision in the matter, the board of governors of the IIM-Bangalore is meeting this week to take a final decision.
IIM-Kozhikode was the first institute that whole-heartedly accepted Dr Joshi's diktat. The board of governors of IIM-K met at Kozhikode on last Friday. Chairman of IIM-K Dr A C Muthiah said that the board's decision to endorse the fee cut directive was "unanimous."
"The fee cut has not affected the autonomy of IIM-K. I would like to say that there is no curb on our autonomy," Dr Muthiah said.
According to him, it is the prerogative of the government whether or not to go in for the fee cut at IIMs. "In fact, the government should frame a policy on whether or not to continue with the subsidy. The appointment of the director and the creation of posts in the IIMs are done by the government," he pointed out.
Officials said it was the IIM-Kozhikode that first endorsed Dr Joshi's fee cut move. Soon after the ministry issued the directive, former IIM-K director Dr Amarlal H Kalro was the first person to come in support of the move saying the government had "the prerogative to take certain kinds of decisions including changes in the structure of fees."
IIM-K also informed the ministry that the slashing of the student fee was not a retrograde move and that it would not affect the quality of education at IIMs.
Officials disclosed that IIM-K officials informally discussed with the other smaller IIMs -- IIM-Lucknow and IIM-Indore -- to fully back the government decision. "It is just one institute, the IIM-Ahmedabad, that has been making a hue and cry on the matter. I think IIM-A also will have to follow the government order soon," an IIM-K official told rediff.com.
Last week, forced by these three IIMs' unity in support of the government order, the board of directors of the IIM-Calcutta also decided to accept the reduction in fees. But it inserted a clause in the decision saying that a final resolution to the matter would be made subject to the faculty council's concern on autonomy.
Till date, Dr Joshi has stuck to his stern decision, and even warning last week that 'financial irregularities' may emerge out of some of the IIMs in the coming days.
Stating that it is just IIM-Ahmedabad that is opposing the fee cut decision, Dr Joshi said there is a fear psychosis being generated by those whose skeletons will be out when financial irregularities of certain institutions will come out.
