Prelude to a meet: Directors of IIMs visit Shastri Bhavan

The directors of the three big Indian Institutes of Managements—Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Kolkata today met higher education secretary S...

The directors of the three big Indian Institutes of Managements—Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Kolkata today met higher education secretary S.C.Tripathi at Shastri Bhavan to discuss the nature of their presentation before HRD Minister Arjun Singh at their scheduled meeting on May 31.

This meeting had been scheduled long before Singh’s announcement yesterday that he would like to have a dialogue with the IIMs in three to four days. In fact, Tripathi, who took charge in early April, had to meet the directors for starting a process of rapprochement. But with Singh demanding a meeting with the IIM directors, Tuesday’s talks became a preliminary discussion on the agenda for May 31.

Even as the polls were on, Tripathi had conveyed to the IIMs that he was ready for a dialogue with the chairmen or the directors. It was agreed that conversations could begin once IIM-A chairman N.R. Narayanamurthy, was back from his foreign tour around May 15. But then the delay in government formation postponed matters. Tripathi, nevertheless, set up the meeting because he did not want the lack of communication to further worsen.

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The IIM directors were made aware that the minister was all for persisting with the autonomy they had enjoyed so far. And, the minister had not made up his mind on the fee cut issue. Another matter that might figure at the meeting was ex-comptroller and auditor general V.K.Shunglu’s report on IIM finances.

Joint secretary (technical education) V.S.Pandey was not invited to attend Tuesday’s discussions.