Summary
The Visitor can also suspend or dissolve an IIM’s board of governors for non performance or insubordination, or in the public interest, the rules say
The director of any IIM can be removed virtually at will by the Visitor, the President of India, new rules notified by the government suggest.
The Visitor can also suspend or dissolve an IIM’s board of governors for non performance or insubordination, or in the public interest, the rules
say.
Since the President is expected to act on the Centre’s advice, what this means is that the government is taking back some of the autonomy it had given the premier
management institutes in 2018.
The IIM (Amendment) Bill, which amends the IIM Act of 2018, was passed in the monsoon session.
The education ministry on Friday notified the new rules under the amended
act.
“Notwithstanding anything
contained in any of the clauses of this sub-rule, if the Visitor decides that
the services of the director may be terminated or the director may be relieved
from the services of the institute, the board shall be bound to follow the
decision of the Visitor,” the rules say.
Under
the IIM Rules of 2018, the
board of governors alone had the power to remove the director — if so decided
by at least two-thirds of its members — for misuse of power, conviction in any
case involving moral turpitude, or for pursuing their own financial or other
interests.
However,
the board had to first conduct an inquiry into any allegation against the
director and give the director a reasonable opportunity to defend themselves.
The
new rules do not mention any inquiry though they say the director would be
given an opportunity to express his views.
The
new rules also say the Visitor can suspend or dissolve the board of governors
if it is unable to discharge its functions or perform its duties, or if the
board has persistently defaulted in complying with any direction given by the
Visitor under this act, or if circumstances render it necessary in the public
interest to do so.
Before
the IIM Act of 2018, the
institutes’ boards of governors were appointed by the government. But the 2018
act said the outgoing board members would pick their successors. It also
allowed the board of each institute to appoint the chairperson and director
without involving the government.
But
the new rules say the Visitor will from now on nominate the chairperson of
each IIM’s board of governors, and
the chairperson will head a panel to recommend candidates for director.
Anindya
Sen, former faculty member at IIM Calcutta,
said the new rules seem to have taken the situation back to the days before
the IIM Act of 2018.
“Before
the IIM Act, each of the IIMs had signed a memorandum of
association with the government where the government had special powers to
interfere and act against any office-bearer at any IIM. But this provision was exercised very rarely,” Sen said.
“The
new rules have now clearly spelt out the scope for government interference
in IIM affairs. I expect such
powers to be judiciously used.”
An IIM director said the government may have
brought in the changes keeping in mind the way some of the B-school directors
had conducted themselves in recent years.
However,
if this provision is misused, reputable academics would shun leadership roles
at the IIMs, he added.
“As
long as this provision is used judiciously, it’s fine. If it’s used
unnecessarily to trouble the director for whatever reason, well-known academics
will not like to join the institutes. Substandard people will join and they
will happily carry out all the diktats of the government.”
IIM Rohtak director Dheeraj Sharma currently faces allegations
of not possessing a first-class bachelor’s degree, a necessary qualification
mentioned in the government advertisement issued in 2015 for the post.
The
matter is before Punjab and Haryana High Court, where the education ministry
has filed an affidavit stating Sharma has only a second-class bachelor’s
degree, and had concealed this in his application and CV.
The IIM Rules of 2018 did not specifically
demand that applicants for director should have first-class bachelor’s and
master’s degrees. It only said they should be distinguished academics. The
latest rules have made first-class degrees a requirement.
Last updated on 13 Nov 2023
