(From left) Bihar Governor R.S. Gavai, Vice-President Mohammed Hamid Ansari and chief minister Nitish Kumar light the traditional lamp on Wednesday. (PTI)

Patna, June 11: Vice-President Mohammed Hamid Ansari today inaugurated the Chandragupta Institute of Management, Patna (CIMP), designed on the pattern of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, in the state capital.

The institute, being described as the first international standard business school in the state, would start conducting classes from July 2008 with 60 students in its first batch.

Admission to the school would be through Common Admission Test (CAT) and like the IIMs, the proposed institute would offer MBA and professional business courses.

The classes would be initially held at the Hindi Bhavan in the heart of the capital. Later, classes would be shifted to Mithapur area, where a complex is under construction on 20 acres.

Ansari, while inaugurating the CIMP, said that the institute would go a long way in raising the state’s student profile in the educational arena. He pointed out that Bihar’s existing educational infrastructure does not measure up to its historical standard. He added that the education quality did not fulfil the requirements of a developing society.

“The CIMP is going to be a big step for modern education,” he said.

A group of alumni and faculty of the IIM, Ahmedabad, who hail from Bihar, have helped the government establish the CIMP.

Director V. Mukunda Das said IIM, Ahmedabad, has agreed (in principle) to support CIMP with its technical expertise, especially in setting up the library.

The Vice-President thanked Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar for providing the former with the opportunity to inaugurate such a “prestigious” institution set up to add to the state’s glory.

The chief minister, on his part, re-iterated his government’s commitment to make the institution a “centre of excellence”.

He recalled how the government had played a role in starting the Chanakya Law School University on the pattern of the National Law School of India University, Banglore.

Nitish Kumar said the state would not make any “compromises” on education in the state.

The Vice-President, who was accorded a red carpet welcome at Jaiprakash Narayan Airport here on his arrival, also attended a religious function at Imarat-e-Sharia, a religious body, at Phulwari Shariff on the city’s outskirts.