We can’t have quota in one go, say IIMs
BANGALORE: In a major setback to oversight committee’s move to implement 27% OBC quota at the premier Indian Institutes of Management from 2007-’08, directors of six IIMs have thrown up their hands saying it would be practically impossible to implement the quota in one go.
The directors of all IIMs who met twice — in Chennai and Bangalore — on the quota issue have told the core group on management institutions chairman Samuel Paul that their plates are full and it would be unrealistic to launch reservation for OBCs on full scale from next June.
“To implement 27% reservations, IIMs will have to increase the intake by 54%. Given the shortage of faculty and inadequate infrastructure, none of the IIMs can handle this extent of expansion in just one year.We must stagger the implementation if quality is not to be compromised.
The preferred option would be to implement it in a modest way,” Paul, former IIM-A director,who heads the core group on management schools, told The Times of India. If IIM-A has no land to even build a shed, IIM-Kozhikode has a peculiar problem. The IIM-K director has told the core group that as the institute is located in a hilly region, finding a contractor is difficult. The situation is grim even on the faculty front.
While the premier B-schools are struggling to fill even the sanctioned posts due to lack of qualified faculty, each IIM will have to recruit 23 additional faculty if the quota will have to be implemented.
“This scale of recruitment has never happened in any of the IIMs. Each institute recruits only about 5-6 faculty every year, but finding 23 professors will not only result in intense competition among the IIMs but may also lead to poaching,” Paul said.
All IIM directors want the Centre to relax various norms to overcome limitations in implementing the quota plan. IIMs have suggested that their respective Board of Governors should be authorised to take final decisions on matters relating to recruitment, faculty compensation and capacity building to beat delay in getting government clearances.
“To attract good faculty you need to offer attractive salary. IIMs have not been able to offer good compensation since they are bound by the Pay Commission. The directors have suggested that the retirement age should be relaxed from 62 to 65 years.
Even during recruitment, the existing rules insist that the faculty has to be a Ph.D.
“In the areas of accounting, finance and marketing it is difficult to find a faculty with a Ph.D. In these areas a good chartered accountant may be appointed,” Paul said.
Though a final meeting of IIM directors to finalise their recommendations is scheduled for next week, Paul feels the entire exercise would be futile if the Brand IIM suffers due to quota.
“There is immense pressure on IIMs to implement quota because the intake is limited and pay packets are the best in the country. The government has to ensure that the brand is not destroyed while implementing reservations. If there is no brand, nobody gains — including the OBC.
Source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/
Related Information
Stay on OBC quota puts IIMs in fix
Stay on OBC quota puts IIMs in fix The Supreme Courts stay on 27 per cent reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in elite educational institutions on Thursday could impact admissions in IIMs this year. The IIMs had already finalised the list of candidates for admission in May 2007. At IIM-Bangalore, interviews for the 270 seats are over. There were 1,065 candidates who were called for interviews based on the seven per cent OBC reservation at IIM-B for this year. More : ibnlive.com
OBC quota: Centre may move SC today
OBC quota: Centre may move SC today After the six IIMs decided to declare their merit lists on April 21, IIM-Ahmedabad has said the list of qualified candidates will be released from 11 am onwards on that day. Other IIMs are also expected to follow suit. The government, meanwhile, is expected to move the Supreme Court tomorrow. Director of IIM-Bangalore Prof Prakash Apte, who wrote to the Union HRD Ministry on behalf of the IIMs on April 12, has said in his missive that the admission process will be done in two stages: the first list on April 21 will be as
Quota puts IIM, medical aspirants in fix
Quota puts IIM, medical aspirants in fix The anti-quota camp across the country have welcomed the stay as a vindication of their stand but students seeking admissions to medical colleges and IIMs are now a worried lot. Supreme Courts stay is likely to affect admissions for the current academic year beginning June 2007. Several thousands students are waiting for a better line than that from HRD Minister Arjun Singh. Their academic and professional future hangs in the balance after the Supreme Courts order staying 27 per cent OBC quota. More : ibnlive.com
IIMs IITs increasing seats for quota
IIMs IITs increasing seats for quota The IIMs and the IITs have decided to have a slow increase in the percentage of seats for the OBC quota implementation laid by the Veerappa Moily Oversight Committee. The Moily panel has asked all the IITs and IIMs to increase the seats by 18 percent for over three years so as to achieve 54 percent expansion in the seats and at the same time to reserve 9 percent for the OBC students every year so that these institutes can meet the target of 27 percent. Only two IITs - Kanpur and Roorkee are increasing
Delhi dozes, IIMs lose quota sleep
Delhi dozes, IIMs lose quota sleep Having cleared the toughest of examinations, some of Indias brightest minds entering the countrys Ivy League this year may face crammed classrooms and hostels — and perhaps morning skirmishes at the toilet. The Indian Institutes of Management, Indian Institutes of Technology and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences are in quota chaos. Six months before the admission process starts, the institutes are still waiting for the Centre to clear their infrastructure plans to meet the surge in students mandated by the new reservation law. More : telegraphindia.com