IIMC to introduce OBC quota in fresh admission list

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, January 27, 2007

The Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Joka, will publish a fresh list of candidates by the end of this month to accommodate 3 per cent OBC students. The general seats will also be increased proportionately.
IIM had sent a plan to the ministry stating that it would introduce the 27 per cent reservation policy three years — 3 per cent in the first year, followed by 15 per cent and 9 per cent in the next two. “Surprisingly, we have not heard anything from the ministry, so we are going ahead with our plan and implementing 3 per cent OBC seats this year. We are also increasing the general category equally, which means that 6 per cent more students will get into IIM this year,” said professor Anindya Sen, dean of programme and research initiative at IIM, Joka.
The CAT results were declared on January 2 and IIM had called all 988 students for group discussion and personal interview. Of them, 773 students were from the general category, 134 from the SC category, 60 from ST category and 21 from physically challenged category. Now, the institute will call around 50 OBC students. “We have already got the necessary clearance and of the 318 students who make it to IIM, Joka, this year, 9 to 10 will be from the OBC category. We will publish the list in our website by January 31. But if we do not find suitable candidates we may not fill up all the OBC seats,” said professor Ashish Bhattacharya, chairman, admissions of IIM, Joka, a member of CAT Group.
But the authorities and many in the faculty feel that the funds allotted by the human resources development ministry would not be enough to maintain the academic standard and infrastructure for the additional students.
The institute had asked for a Rs 139-crore non-recurring grant, Rs 7.29 crore as recurring grant besides Rs 100 crore for buying 50 acres to develop the infrastructure. But the Veerappa Moily Committee has allotted only Rs 47.5 crore for this purpose. “In the final recommendation of the Moily Committee, the money allotted for implementing the OBC quota has been drastically cut down without any explanation,” an IIM official said.
The faculty members are also worried about the funds crunch. “We will soon face serious problems. We must realise that we are dealing with the premier management institution of the country and its academic quality cannot be maintained by just increasing some classrooms and hostel accommodation. The money allotted to us will definitely not help us upgrade our infrastructure,” Sen said.
In its two-year post-graduate diploma in management programme, there is a deficit of Rs 1 lakh per student, which cannot be covered with tuition fee. And with 600 students on campus, the deficit has gone up to Rs 6 crore. “We will some manage this year but from next year it will be a big problem if the infrastructure is not suitably upgraded,” Sen said.
The institute is also not being allowed to maintain its teacher-student ratio. IIM wanted a ratio of 1:7 but the ministry suggested 1:14.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com