The Rajya Sabha has passed the much-awaited Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bill. This effectively maked the elite B-schools free of government interference and giving them the power to award full-fledged degrees. India has 20 IIMs.
The bill now requires presidential assent to become law. It seeks to grant administrative, academic and financial autonomy to the IIMs. The bill was passed unanimously in the Upper House of Parliament, where some opposition party members raised issues related to education reforms.
WHAT THE BILL MEANS
1. The bill, which was approved by the cabinet in January, will grant greater autonomy to these schools and ensure they are “board-driven, with the chairperson and director selected by the board”.
2. IIMs at Ahmedabad and Kozhikode that are running without full-time directors will appoint their own directors without seeking approval from the government.
3. Neither the HRD ministry nor the President of India will have any say in the selection of top executives at these B-schools. The government will have no say in the appointments or fees charged at these institutes as well.
4. The bill proposes a periodic, independent review of the IIMs, which would be allowed to award degrees. Until now, since they haven’t been governed by an act of Parliament, nor overseen by the University Grants Commission (UGC), IIMs have been awarding students postgraduate diplomas.
5. The bill contains a provision for a “Coordination Forum of IIMs”. But it will have limited power and work as an advisory body, consisting of 33 members, and its chairman will be selected by a search-cum-selection committee. The HRD minister will not head it.
6. The bill says the central government may frame rules to give additional powers and duties to IIM boards and decide on the terms and conditions of service of directors although the appointments will be made by the boards.
