Heads of IIMs push back against bid to control, say government plan against PM view

The government’s attempt to give itself the power to initiate an inquiry against an IIM Board goes against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public stand on the autonomy of educational institutions, and challenges the wisdom of the new National Education Policy (NEP), directors of several of India’s showpiece management institutes told The Indian Express.

The institute heads, who spoke on condition of anonymity, pointed out that concerns over the one-year MBA degree were not serious enough to merit a response of this kind from the Ministry of Education (MoE).

The IIM directors were reacting to a report in The Sunday Express (December 6) that the MoE was exploring options that could, in effect, erode the autonomy of the institutes.

The MoE recently shared a draft executive order with the Law Ministry that proposes to empower the government to initiate an inquiry against the Board of Governors (BoG) of an institute if it is found to be acting, according to the government, in contravention of the IIM Act, 2017. The proposal comes amid an ongoing standoff between the IIMs and the government over the one-year MBA degree.

“I think the one-year degree issue is being used as an excuse to get the Law Ministry involved and push this proposal [to allow the government to investigate the IIM BoG] through. The world over MBA programmes for working professionals are of one-year duration. This proposal probably has more to do with the bureaucracy not being able to come to terms with the fact that the IIMs are now entirely free of government control,” the chairperson of an IIM Board said.

The MoE had said in July that the one-year executive MBA degree was “not in accordance with the UGC Regulations”.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) mandates that a Master’s degree should be of two years, and the IIMs, in the government’s view, had violated that provision. The government had directed the IIMs to “act in conformity with the UGC Act 1956”.

“This is in bad taste,” the director of a second-generation IIM said on the government’s attempt to give itself powers to move against an IIM Board. “The one-year degree is not a substantive issue based on which the government should take such a step. I suspect this is more of an ego issue. As far as checks and balances are concerned, our alumni, who have a decent representation on the BoG, will never allow the institute to do something that will hurt the IIM brand. This (government’s proposal) goes against the grain of the NEP.”

The director of an older IIM said “whoever has initiated this in the government has perhaps not read the Prime Minister’s stand on educational institutions’ autonomy”.

“The Prime Minister’s Office has thwarted attempts in the past to insert provisions to introduce government control. Whoever is doing this is negating what the PM has said and challenging the NEP’s wisdom,” this IIM director said.

The IIM Act, which came into effect on January 31, 2018, gives sweeping powers to all 20 business schools, including the power to appoint directors, chairpersons, and Board members.

In September 2018, referring to the passage of the new law, Modi had said, “Sarkar kahin nahi aayegi, koi babu aakar nahi baithega (Government will not interfere, no officer will have any role).”

“If you have ceded control to the Board (of Governors) then why would you want to pull back now? Just as how the risk of being summoned and investigated had prompted many independent directors to resign their posts from the Boards of companies, no one would want to be part of an IIM Board if the government starts initiating inquiries against the BoG at will. The government is not the only responsible agency in the country. They will have to trust the Board members. This is an unnecessary attempt at centralisation and will destroy the institutes,” the director of another older IIM said.

The role of B-schools in bridging gender gap

 On a mission to curb the gender gap in business schools, several colleges have started offering scholarships and hosting conferences to encourage women to enroll in the management courses

The number of female students graduating in the year of 2021 at Indian B-Schools has hit a record high. Indian B-schools have achieved a new milestone in terms of gender diversity in each field. Academicians at iFeel Lonavala are of the view that the ratio of women and men students in B-schools is on the verge to reach an equal level. There are a majority of colleges who have already witnessed a significant increase in the enrollment of female students which is why B-schools are positive that the gender gap in the field is likely to decline in the near future.

B-Schools have become more aware of the role they play in closing the gender gap both in and outside the classroom. While many organize conferences, offer scholarships, and launch initiatives, there is still much work to do when it comes to creating a truly inclusive culture, particularly when it comes to the cost of entry.

According to the scholars at iFEEL, corporate firms look for gender diversity in campus hiring. The corporate culture is evolving as more women are entering the workplace. This is one of the reasons that companies coming for placements specifically enquire about the number of women candidates in the batch.

To encourage and support more women to come back to education post marriage and childbirth, many B-Schools are providing housing units and crèche facilities. With this, they can even opt for staying with their families in the allotted units. In several cases, unmarried women candidates are also allowed to stay with a family member while pursuing a management degree. The trend is fast catching up.

IIT Guwahati Placements 2020 begin, highest package offered already more than that of last year

IIT Guwahati Placements 2020: Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati Placement sessions began on Tuesday in virtual mode and a total of 69 offers were made till the time of the release of this press statement by the institution.

Companies such as Google, Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, Adobe, Quadaye, Oracle, Walmart, Bajaj, American Express, Uber, Accenture Japan, MTX, and many more participated on the first day of the placement drive at IIT Guwahati.

A total of 133 students from the institute have got Pre-Placement Offers (PPOs), which is equivalent to that of last year.

Speaking on the placement process, Prof. Abhishek Kumar, Head, Centre for Career Development mentioned that IIT Guwahati is conducting the placement completely in an online mode and the institute is glad to mention that the highest package offered this year so far is already much higher than last year’s highest package.

“The year 2020 has seen the placement process happening online and the number of recruiters joining the virtual placement has been very encouraging despite the pandemic and we are thankful to all the recruiters. The students of IIT Guwahati who are appearing for the placement from across the country are very determined and are likely to benefit from this online process due to the equal opportunity provides to them as other institutes and we expect an upward trend in placement this year at IIT Guwahati,” Prof. T. G. Sitharam, Director, IIT Guwahati said in a press release.