Saturday 8 October 2016

HRD drops key clauses in re-worked IIM bill

NEW DELHI: Under fire from the Prime Minister’s Office on the issue, the Human Resource Development Ministry under its new minister has finally reworked the IIM Bill to drop key provisions, including the office of the Visitor for IIMs. The reworked Bill has gone for final vetting to the Law Ministry before being taken to Cabinet again. Changing its position from the Smriti Irani era,
the HRD ministry under Prakash Javadekar is learnt to have agreed to completely do away with the office of the Visitor to the IIMs—putting an end to the row with the PMO on government control over IIMs.

The ministry may minimise government control over the IIM Coordination Panel but will make a special provisions to ensure government policies like that on faculty quota are followed by IIMs.

While the IIM Bill had been moved to Cabinet in August, certain new recommendations were made again asking for reworking the Bill.

These recommendations have finally been incorporated in the latest version of the IIM Bill, which has now gone to the Law ministry before being taken to Cabinet again, highly placed sources confirmed to ET.

All major centrally—funded institutes, including IITs and Central Universities have the President of India as the Visitor.

The Visitor makes top appointments at these institutes and is also empowered to hold an inquiry into an institute or its head’s functioning. Since the Visitor is largely advised by the ministry in his decisions related to educational institutes, many argue that this this only serves as an indirect way for exercising government control and influence over IIMs.

While agreeing on some of the other proposals by the PMO for allowing greater autonomy to IIMs, the HRD ministry under Irani had insisted on retaining the Visitorial role.

Javadekar has however, changed the ministry’s stance on the issue. IIMs had also objected to the IIM Coordination panel- an overarching body representing all IIMs- to be crafted on the lines of the IIT Council.

While the HRD minister chairs the IIT Council and accordingly exercise considerable influence over it, a similar model proposed for the IIM Coordination panel was mooted.

This was strongly resisted by the IIMs—and the argument also found favour with the PMO. It is learnt that the HRD ministry has also agreed to keep the minister out of the panel and have it headed instead by an eminent person.

The ministry had earlier agreed to rework the panel structure so that it would havemore of an advisory role.

While giving in on these two counts, to allow greater autonomy for IIMs , the new version of the IIM Bill will, however, also include a provision asking IIMs to follow government policies. 

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