The Indian Institutes of Management (Amendment) Bill, 2023 has been passed by the Lok Sabha today. The bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on July 28. The bill proposes amendments to the IIM Act of 2017, including increased presidential powers in IIMs which has raised concerns over the balance between accountability and autonomy of these eminent management institutes in the country.
The amendment declares the 20 IIMs across the country as ‘institutions of national importance’. The bill introduced in Lok Sabha in the ongoing monsoon session of the Parliament by the union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan proposes to appoint the President of India as the ‘Visitor’ to all the IIMs.
As per the proposed changes the ‘Visitor’ will have powers to conduct audits, and even appoint or remove the chairpersons of the board of governors and directors.
While the government claims that the amendments will fix accountability, critics of the bill raise concerns over the autonomy of the IIMs. According to experts and academicians, the bill, if passed, will compromise the autonomy of the premier B-Schools of the country.
The bill allows the President, as the ‘Visitor’, to appoint the chairperson of the coordination forums for each IIM. The coordination forums have been proposed for better coordination among all management insinuating common policy objectives.
The major reason behind the amendment in the 2017 Act was said to be the conflict between the Centre and the top management schools over awarding one-year executive MBA degrees in early 2020. It was cancelled by the University Grants Commission (UGC) rules as there was no provision to grant such a degree for the duration of a year.
Another incident of disagreement between the two was when IIM-Rohtak reappointed the director for the second time, despite a controversy over the credentials of an official academic. The Education Ministry had opposed the decision.
What is the current scenario of IIM governing bodies?
Under the IIM Act of 2017, IIMs are allowed greater autonomy. The IIMs are run by its board of governors, the highest decision-making body for each institute. The 19-member body includes one representative each from Central and state government as well as eminent personalities from the fields of education, science, industry and technology, among others.
This board has the power to take decisions related to the administration and working of the institute. The board enjoys the authority to take policy decisions, all administrative matters and the functioning of the institute. The board also appoints its Chairperson.
The board of governors of each IIM finalises the search-cum-selection panel for the appointment of new directors as well as decides the pay package. The board also has the final say on the matters of creating posts, establishing new departments, annual budget and course fees.
However, before the 2017 Act, the chairperson in the board of governors and the director of every IIM were appointed by the Centre, just like the IITs and AIIMS. Apart from that before the act was implemented, there were only diplomas for post-graduation courses, not the degrees that IIMs offer now.
Currently, there are 20 IIMs in the country out of which IIM Calcutta was the first one that was established in 1961. However, the IIM (Amendment) Bill 2023 also classifies the National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE), Mumbai, as the 21st IIM in the country.
(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)
First Published: Aug 3, 2023 12:17 PM IST
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