New Delhi: Parliament has successfully passed a pivotal bill aiming to amplify the management accountability of Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), endowing the President with significant authority in their governance.
The legislation, known as the Indian Institutes of Management (Amendment) Bill, 2023, seeks to amend the IIM Act of 2017, granting the President the role of Visitor to these esteemed educational institutions. The President will possess the power to conduct audits of their operations, initiate investigations, and both appoint and remove directors, reported PTI.
The bill received resounding approval in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Parliament, through a voice vote, solidifying the President's heightened involvement in the administration of premier B-schools while simultaneously upholding their academic autonomy. This follows the bill's earlier clearance in the Lok Sabha on August 4.
In response to the debates surrounding the bill within the Rajya Sabha, Dharmendra Pradhan, the Education Minister, articulated the government's stance. He emphasised that the intention is not to erode the institutes' academic accountability; instead, the bill is designed to reinforce their management accountability. He also highlighted the substantial financial commitment made by the government to establish these IIMs, exceeding Rs 6,000 crore.
"I will like to assure the Parliament that we don’t have any intention of interfering with the academic autonomy of IIMs. Over the past three-four years, it has been observed that IIM Boards did not comply with several constitutional obligations such as providing reservations to backward categories during the appointment of teachers or being accountable to the government’s GFRs (General Financial Rules) as well as its service conduct rules)," said the minister.
"IIMs have been built with more than Rs 6000 crores of public money. They must not become private properties," he added.
The IIM Act of 2017, enacted in January 2018 to grant these esteemed B-schools greater autonomy, stipulated that each institute's board of governors comprise 19 members. This board includes only one representative from the central and state governments. The remaining 17 members are nominated from distinguished personalities, faculty, and alumni. The board is entrusted with appointing search panels to identify potential new directors and chairpersons, with final appointments executed based on the panels' recommendations.
The amendment bill proposes a pivotal alteration by introducing a Visitor's nominee into the search-cum-selection panel responsible for appointing directors.
During the bill's debate, several Rajya Sabha members contributed their viewpoints. Notably, due to the opposition's walkout, the discussion featured the participation of seven members, including Anil Agrawal (BJP), Masthan Rao Beeda (YSRCP), M Thambidurai (AIADMK), and Kanakamedala Ravindra Kumar (TDP).
The Lok Sabha had cleared the bill on August 4.