By Prashant K. Nanda
New Delhi, (IANS) Unlike the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), existing Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) won’t have much of a role in adopting and nurturing upcoming IIMs as they don’t have “much resources”.
“They will have limited role in mentoring,” Higher Education Secretary in the Ministry of Human Resource Development R.P. Agarwal told IANS.
“Unlike the IITs, the existing IIMs will not have that much of a role. They do not have much resources too to take care of new IIMs,” Agarwal said.
Last month, the central government approved setting up seven new IIMs in addition to the existing seven. While four of them will start classes from the 2010-11 academic year, the other three will become functional the year after.
Of the proposed IIMs, four will be set up in Trichy (Tamil Nadu), Ranchi (Jharkhand), Raipur (Chhattisgarh) and Rohtak (Haryana). They will start classes in the 2010-11 academic year.
As part of limited hand holding, Agarwal said, Trichy will be taken care by IIM-Bangalore, Raipur by IIM-Indore, Ranchi will get the assistance of Kolkata, Rohtak will get support from IIM-Lucknow.
“Let me make it clear, IITs are a close knit group but IIMs are not. They are working more as autonomous units. Each one of them is an independent institution. They too have their limitations but yes, they will have a role to play.
“They will help in curricula and send their faculties too. I don’t think the new IIMs will start out of their mentor IIMs’ campuses. The new IIMs will have their buildings,” the higher education secretary elaborated.
The old IITs had literally adopted the new ones. For example, IIT Punjab started its operation from IIT Delhi campus. Its students also stayed in IIT Delhi hostels for a year before the institute moved to a makeshift campus in Punjab.
Agarwal, however, said that the Human Resource Development ministry believes that the setting up and functioning of new IIMs will be a “smooth process”.
“Don’t think negative. All the IIMs including the new ones will have a smooth ride,” he added.
Each new IIM will start with 140 students and the number will go up to 560 eventually. The central government has already sanctioned Rs.451 crore (Rs.4.51 billion) as non-recurring expenditure and Rs.118 crore (Rs.1.18 billion) as recurring expenditure for the first phase of setting up IIMs.
The existing IIMs are in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, Lucknow, Indore, Kozhikode and Shillong.
-- IANS