http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Quota_muddle_hits_IIM_infra_expansion/articleshow/1951963.cms
Quota muddle hits IIM infra expansion SREERADHA D BASU & SUSHMITA MOHAPATRA TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25, 2007 02:02:10 AM] KOLKATA/BANGALORE: The quota controversy just seems to rage on. While the IIMs have decided to comply with the ministry of human resources (MHRD) directive on the date of issuing the final admission list, confusion reigns supreme. It's just not the students' admissions alone. Infrastructure plans of the IIMs and the academic cycle have also now become uncertain. As some analysts put it, this is a management chaos and the worst nightmare for India's higher education system. The government's directive on implementation of 27% OBC reservation (overall increase in intake of 54%) called for expansion of the existing infrastructure across IIMs. This expansion was expected to be phased out across three years, the same period as the implementation of the reservation. Each IIM was likely to get between Rs 40-50 crore from the Centre to fund expansion plans. Now, with the quota issue hanging fire, institutes are uncertain about the road ahead. According to IIM Bangalore director Prakash Apte, the institute will not need extra funds to carry out its expansion plans for this year, had the quota been imposed. "But now with the Supreme Court ruling, the infrastructure expansion has been put on hold for this year," he said. On the other hand, IIM Calcutta acting director Asim Pal said the institute would proceed with its expansion plans. "In any case, the money that was being given by the government was inadequate, but we are not letting that stop us. Our expansion will be funded largely by our corpus. And in any case, for us, being the oldest IIM, infrastructure upgradation was long overdue," he added. An IIMC source, however, said the lack of clarity on the quota issue could lead to complications. "Unless the issue is settled, how do we know how much should we scale our infrastructure up?" he queried. IIM Lucknow director Devi Singh said expansion had already started in a small way, starting with construction of hostels. "But for the rest of it, we will have to wait for word from the MHRD. If the quota is put on hold this year and no money is sent, where will we get the funds for expansion?" the director wondered. An IIM Ahmedabad spokesperson, too, reiterated that they would await word from the MHRD. The institute, incidentally, had earlier spoken of a paucity of land for expansion and had asked the Gujarat government to identify a plot for further development. "For the first year, we had plans to accommodate the students within our existing infrastructure. In the wake of recent developments, any new decision on infrastructure expansion will be taken by the director and the board of governors after receiving the directive from the MHRD," said the spokesperson. IIM Indore director SP Parasher was the only one to state that the institute had already received funds for expansion from the Centre. "The original idea was reservation as well as capacity expansion. Construction has begun and our plans will proceed as per schedule," he said. [EMAIL PROTECTED]
