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College News Archive [February 2004]

• IIMs, ministry find peace formula
• After IIMs, govt targets B-schools
• Foreign students prefer India
• Technical symposium on March 10 & 11
• MBBS second year exams likely to be postponed
• Decision to cut IIM fees challenged in SC
• Fee revision of AICTE - recognised management schools
• IIMs oppose single CAT for B-schools
• No fee cut on the cards for IITs
• Second year MBBS exams to be held in April
• CAT held successfully
• Govt to accord permission for pharmacy colleges
• Intermediate practical exams to be video-taped
• Eamcet likely to be advanced
• Placement scene encouraging B-schools
• Nothing elite about us: IIM-A students
• B.Ed admissions to be postponed
• IGNOU convocation tomorrow
• UoH leads team on higher education
• Hyderabad best suited for setting up IIT
• GO on B.Ed colleges to be amended
• ICFAI to offer PG diploma in risk management
• IIT to give IIMs a run for their money
• SC gives IIM fee cuts a go-ahead
• Back to Archives

IIMs, ministry find peace formula

Feb 03, 2004: New Delhi: The deadlock between the IIMs and the ministry of human resources development looked all set to open when the six directors agreed to cut fees and a host of other things. Besides the fee rationalisation, performance reviews, expansion plans, enrolment increases, and courses relevant to new Indian realities came up for discussion as according to the HRD Minister Murali Manohar Joshi. The minister made it clear that management education has to be both accessible and affordable to all sections. While agreeing to the fee cut, some of the IIM directors expressed concern about making ends meet, to which Joshi reportedly responded with an assurance of additional grants. The minister also said that a reduction in tuition fees wouldn’t be allowed to impact the quality of education in these institutes. Though no final tuition figures were disclosed, ET had earlier reported that the current Rs 1.5 lakh would be cut to Rs 20,000.

On the contentious autonomy issue, the minister is said to have told them that his ministry was not given to interference in the working of the institutions, nor does it plan to do so in the future. It is learnt that none of the IIM directors disagreed with the minister. According to the recommendations of the UR Rao Committee, fees for technical education institutes - management and engineering - should be capped at 30% of the country’s per capita income. This would put the figure at Rs 6,000 per year (at current prices). This may seem drastic, but the report goes on to detail that even in countries like the US, tuition fee at technical institutes - varying between $5,600 and $11,000 - does not exceed 30% of the nation’s per capita GNP. Earlier in the face-off, Murthy had stepped in to scotch rumours that IIM-A was rejecting the government’s annual grant of Rs 10.5 crore.

After IIMs, govt targets B-schools

Feb 09, 2004: New Delhi: After slashing the fee of the six IIMs, the HRD ministry has now set its eyes on other B-schools in the country. The ministry has directed the All-India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) to use the recommendations of the UR Rao Committee and the state fee committees, as soon as they submit their reports, to slash the fee of all the B-schools affiliated to it. Some of the prominent institutes that may come in the firing line will be the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Jamnalal Bajaj Institute, Mumbai, Symbiosis, Pune, and XLRI, Jamshedpur. There are more than 600 management institutes approved by the AICTE, all of which will have to slash their fee to less than Rs 40,000 per annum, ministry sources say.

While the UR Rao Committee recommendations are already out and were used by the HRD ministry to justify its decision to slash the fee of the six IIMs by 80 %, the state fee committees are yet to submit their reports to the AICTE. Ministry sources said these committees will submit their recommendations within two months. The fee committees, headed by a judge, were set up by the AICTE following a Supreme Court order on rationalisation of the fee structure in technical institutes. Ministry officials said they already had ample data and recommendations of previous committees, including the UR Rao Committee report, to slash the fee charged by technical institutes. The state-level fee committees appointed by the AICTE recommended revision of fee in management schools for 2003-2004.

Foreign students prefer India

Feb 09, 2004: India continues to shine on the world stage. It isn’t just the world’s premier outsourcing destination. Indian Inc is also becoming a preferred option for foreign students looking for internships as well as work experience. And for the Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, ranked by the Financial Times as the third best business school for the executive MBA program (after Wharton and GSB University of Chicago). India is a country that offers immense potential, both for its students as well as for the B-school itself.

Fuqua School of Business has plans on furthering its Indian connection by sending down a group of about 20-30 students to India as part of the school’s GATE (Global Academic Travel Experience) program —a first for the B-school. Along with exploring potential tie-ups with Indian universities, trip included interaction with prominent Indian business leaders and companies, such as Infosys and Ranbaxy to further future relationships. One of the largest international student population (along with China and Japan) at Fuqua are Indian. At Fuqua, the number of Indian faculty has also gone up in the last three years. The numbers of Indians and Chinese attending doctoral programs in the US has also been growing rapidly. These automatically become feeder programs for the school’s faculty. India’s importance continues to grow with the school adding Indian case studies for their students.

Technical symposium on March 10 & 11

Feb 09, 2004: Hyderabad: The Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology (NIT), Warangal, will organise a national-level technical symposium, ‘Sayantrik-04’ at NIT. The organising committee in a release said students from prestigious engineering colleges from all over the country would take part in the symposium. Technical paper presentations, Cosmos – guest lectures by experienced professors on advanced technology, Mequiz – technical quiz, Technomech – technical writing and case study, Zigyasa – general quiz, and Tarang – cultural nite would be organised. Those interested in sponsoring events and putting up stalls at the venue could the coordinator, Sayantrik-04, Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Warangal.

MBBS second year exams likely to be postponed

Feb 10, 2004: Hyderabad: The second year MBBS examinations are likely to be postponed to the third or fourth week of April 2004, while the first and final year examinations will be conducted as per the schedule. Though the examinations were earlier scheduled to commence from March 23, the NTR University of Health Sciences has decided to postpone the schedule following the students’ request, according to its registrar Dr B Jayakar Babu. Asked whether the examinations were advanced due to the forth-coming elections, the registrar said the schedule was finalised as per the norms besides following the Medical Council of India guidelines. As per the regulations, 75% attendance in each subject is compulsory, provided the student has 80% attendance in non-lecture teaching like seminars, group discussions, tutorials, demonstrations, practical, hospital postings, bed side clinics etc, failing which the student cannot be permitted to appear in the university examinations, he said.

Decision to cut IIM fees challenged in SC

Feb 11, 2004: New Delhi: A public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in the Supreme Court challenging the Union HRD Ministry's decision to drastically reduce the fee structure of Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) alleging that it was a move to gain control over the professional institutions.

The Ministry had decided to drastically reduce the fees for the post-graduate programmes in the IIMs to Rs 30,000 per annum from around Rs 1.50 lakh per annum. The Ministry had said that this decision has been taken after considering the recent Supreme Court order. The petitioners said the government had gradually reduced the subsidy given to IIMs from 1992 on the basis of the Curien Committee recommendations with a view to give them more autonomy. The present move was taken without taking into account the cash inflow-outflow scenario of the institutions and without hearing the stakeholders of the society governing the IIMs, they alleged.

Fee revision of AICTE - recognised management schools

Feb 11, 2004: New Delhi: Fee revision of AICTE-recognised management schools will have to wait till Parliament reconvenes after the general elections. The government intends to ask the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), to reduce fees , according to the recommendations of the UR Rao Committee report. However, fee revision will not be possible till the AICTE Act is amended. Sources say that the AICTE Act is being considered for amendment, though any order or policy statement on the basis of the amended Act will have to hold till Parliament passes the amendments. The HRD Ministry is proposing the fee reduction in order to ensure a balance in the fees charged by business schools across the country. The amendment will give AICTE the right to regulate fees in B-schools much as in the same way as it does in engineering colleges.

The UR Rao Committee report has suggested that fees for technical education that is management and engineering, institutes should charge no more than 30% ofthe per capita income. This would put the fees at Rs 6,000 per year (at current prices). This figure may seem drastic but the report goes on to detail that even in countries like the United States, tuition fees at technical education institutes do not exceed 30% of the nations per capita GNP. Like with the IIMs there is a possibility that the reduction even in the AICTE colleges will not be as low as recommended by the UR Rao Committee. The fees could be brought down to the level of annual per capita income. However, sources say that in course of time, the idea would be to effect a further reduction in fees. This reduction, sources say, would be in line with international practice. In countries like France, the students at publicly-funded institutes are charged only five % of the cost of education, while in the US they are charged 25%.

IIMs oppose single CAT for B-schools

Feb 13, 2004: New Delhi: The public interest litigation (PIL) filed to overturn the government directive to reduce IIM fee goes a step further. It has asked the Supreme Court to intervene on the institutes’ behalf to ensure that HRD ministry can’t go ahead with its plans for a common entrance examination for all management schools. Instead it has asked the court to direct the government to broaden the scope of the IIM entrance exam, the common admission test — CAT. The PIL wants to ensure that the government doesn’t introduce a test that is administered by retired bureaucrats and persons from private institutes. The contention is that such a move would only “reduce the standards set by the CAT process, and at the same time increase the chance of leaks and breaks.”

The government on the other hand maintains that its plan to introduce a common entrance examination for all management schools stems fromdesire to reduce inconvenience faced by students. Multiple examinations translates into increasing costs and the effort of going through several tests. The government also says that a common entrance examination will ensure at least a basic minimum standard for all management courses. As far as the administering of the test is concerned, the government has proposed to set up a board/committee which would include all “stakeholders”. The committee has representatives of the central and state governments, University Grants Commission, All India Council for Technical Education, Association of Indian Universities, representatives of the IIM, IIT, XLRI, AIMS. The committee will also have representation from the university management departments and the private management institutions. The procedure of the examination will be evolved by the committee. The committee will also review requests for exemption from the common test system on a case-by-case review. One such possibility is institutions conducting instruction and examinations in the regional language. Since such institutions may have a limited base of students, they may not need to adhere to the common test. But the decision on each instance is to be taken by the committee.

No fee cut on the cards for IITs

Feb 13, 2004: New Delhi: The Indian Institutes of Technology can breathe easy. Reports that after the IIMs, these premier technical institutions would face a fee cut have turned out to be wrong. The HRD ministry has said it has no plans to reduce fees in the IITs. Ministry sources said the current fee structure of the IITs was “reasonable’’ and did not require a downward revision. The IITs are charging up to Rs 30,000 for B.Tech courses and Rs 5,000-6,000 for post-graduate courses, which is quite affordable. We therefore don’t feel the need to reduce their fees,’’ said a senior ministry official.

Following remarks made by HRD minister Murli Manohar Joshi recently on how the IITs were not worth their money, speculation was rife that the country’s top engineering institutes may also face a fee cut. But the ministry thinks otherwise. Reacting to the ministry’s decision, IIT professors said education at these institutions was already heavily subsidised and there was no need for any reduction in fees. “The total cost per student comes to Rs 2 lakh annually,’’ says an IIT professor. While the IITs raise money through research and consultancy, they also rely heavily on grants from the government. For 2004-2005, the government has allocated Rs 649 crore to be distributed among the six IITs.

Second year MBBS exams to be held in April

Feb 14, 2004: Hyderabad: The second year MBBS examinations, scheduled to be held in the fourth week of March, would be postponed to the third and fourth week of April. The dates would be notified by the NTR University of Health Sciences in due course. The committee, appointed by the high court to examine the issues raised by the Andhra Pradesh Junior Doctors’ Association and medical students, has decided to postpone the exams. Many second year students in the government medical colleges would not be able to appear for the final examinations, if they are held in the March, committee Chairman B.P. Jeevan Reddy said.

CAT held successfully

Feb 16, 2004: Ahmedabad: The authorities of the Indian Institutes of management (IIMs) heaved a sigh of relief today after the second Common Admission Test (CAT) for admission to the IIMs and some 40 other business management colleges in the country went off smoothly. The leakage of the question paper on the eve of the scheduled CAT examination in November had necessitated the re-test. In all, 1.27 lakh students, including 4,000 from Gujarat, had registered for appearing in the CAT, but the number of those who actually appeared and the number of dropouts, if any, would be known later. Unlike in the previous years, all the sealed trunks carrying the question papers to different centres were taken care of by private security guards and all arrangements were made to eliminate any human error. The CAT group had decided to start the next academic year as per schedule in the last week of June, despite the postponement of the examination. The list of candidates for personal interviews and group discussions were expected to be finalised by the first week of March and the process would be initiated by the last week.

Govt to accord permission for pharmacy colleges

Feb 16, 2004: Hyderabad: The government said it would be liberal in according permission for setting up pharmacy colleges in the state. This decision was taken considering the shortage of qualified people in the sector. Responding to a request from the Andhra Pradesh Chemists and Druggists Association to allow it to set up a pharmacy college in the city with an exclusive quota for their members, Health Minister Kodela Sivaprasada Rao said the government had been according to top priority to education by setting up more medical colleges.

Intermediate practical exams to be video-taped

Feb 16, 2004: Hyderabad: In a move to maintain transparency during examinations, the Intermediate board will set up video cameras at all practical examination centres in the state. The persons who have been appointed to cover the examination centres would also film the infrastructure and laboratory facilities available at the institutes. The move is aimed at highlighting the transparency in the process of conducting practical examinations, Intermediate Board said. The colleges have already intimated the students about the actual date, batch number, subject and the exam time-table well in advance. A copy of the time-table will be displayed on notice boards in the colleges. Practical examinations will be held from February 16 to March 9, while for vocational students, it will be conducted from Feb 16 to March 28 from in two batches from 9:00 AM to 12:00 noon and 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM. If colleges have not received hall tickets of any candidate, the principals are instructed to approach the controller of examinations with necessary documents. A control room has been set up at the Regional Inspecting Office.

Eamcet likely to be advanced

Feb 17, 2004: Hyderabad: The examination schedule already announced for SSC and Intermediate will not have to be changed if the elections are held after April 10, as is likely, according to indications available from the state government. Elections in the state are likely to be held during the second of April, and the government is hopeful that the schedule already fixed for the examinations will go through without any major changes. The government is planning to conduct Eamcet before May and intends to schedule it during the inter-phase period of the election. The date for Eamcet will be finalised only after the poll dates are announced. “As regards the all-India entrance examinations, the likely disruption will be common to all states,” a senior official told. However, evaluation of examination papers could be affected because teachers and lecturers would be required for election work.

Placement scene encouraging B-schools

Feb 17, 2004: Hyderabad: As the academic year draws to a close, companies from all over the country had started visiting the city’s management colleges and business schools for campus recruitments. There are as many as 100 business schools and management colleges in the city – both autonomous and affiliated. The placement scene looks encouraging this year, as more companies have shown interest in the students. The economy is doing well and companies are looking to expand their operations. Now they need more MBAs. With companies becoming more offshore, interfacing with India has increased. Though the salaries offered to the students from the city’s business schools are not at par with that of the IIM graduates and other top business schools in the country, they are offered anywhere between Rs 3.5 lakh per annum as compared to Rs 20 lakh and above. The companies come to these B-schools after they have selected people from the IIMs, XLRI and other institutes. The city institutions are the first choice for many other companies.

Nothing elite about us: IIM-A students

Feb 18, 2004: Ahmedabad: Despite the Supreme Court direction asking the petitioners against the IIM fee slash to furnish the revenue and expenditure statements of the institution, IIM-A students seem to be confident that the apex court would finally understand their funda. Weighing their words deftly, the B-school pupils termed Monday’s direction as a “natural judicial process” and a move on the “expected lines.”Sashwat Sharma, a first year PGP student said that the direction of the Supreme Court was actually on decided lines and did not come as a surprise.

“Details about the balance sheets and other relevant documents will help the court get a clearer picture of the financial requirements of the IIMs,” he said. He added that the students were convinced that the court would also look into the larger issues like the autonomy of IIMs. Within a couple of hours after Chief Justice Khare issued the direction and adjourned the hearing of the case till February 27, the details of the development were flashed on the internal electronic notice board of the institute and reactions of the students began pouring in. An IIM-A official noted that IIMs would now officially be part of the petition.

B.Ed admissions to be postponed

Feb 20, 2004: Hyderabad: Counselling for admissions into B.Ed colleges in the state has been postponed to February 25. It was earlier slated to be held from February 22. The counselling was postponed due to administrative glitches and taking into account traffic problems due to the scheduled Vijaybheri rally organised by the TDP on February 22.

IGNOU convocation tomorrow

Feb 20, 2004: Hyderabad: As many as 1,337 students will be awarded degrees and diplomas at the 15th convocation of the Hyderabad centre of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) on February 21. The main function to be held at the Delhi centre will be telecast live to all the regional centres. Three students from the region will be awarded gold medals at the main convocation at the Delhi centre. The convocation of the regional centre will be held at Dr BR Ambedkar Open University campus at Jubilee Hills. Potti Sriramulu Telugu University Vice Chancellor Prof GV Subramanyam will present degrees and diplomas to students. The regional centre has decided to set up four more study centres in Srikakulam, Karimnagar, Hyderabad and Rangareddy districts to make the total 34. Special courses like one-month computer programme for a fee of Rs 300 for Intermediate students and a two-year diploma programme for primary school teachers are in the offing. After the successful completion of the computer programme, the students can directly opt for BCA course of IGNOU.

UoH leads team on higher education

Feb 20, 2004: Hyderabad: University of Hyderabad will lead a team of eight southern universities selected by the University Grants Commission (UGC) for Promotion of Indian Higher Education Abroad (PIHEAD). The UGC has selected 25 universities from across the country for the programme. It was mooted to prepare the varsities for the implementation of the General Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS) in the educational sector from 2005. The Universities selected for the programme from the South Zone include University of Hyderabad, Osmania University, Andhra University, Madras University, Anna University, Cochin University and Manipal Academy of Higher Education, according to the UGC regional office sources.

The UoH held a high level meeting of the eight southern universities on January 2nd and prepared a 20-point agenda, which will be submitted to the UGC. According to the sources, enhancing the basic infrastructure to a level so that each university can attract more students from across the globe has been proposed. As part of the programme a series of overseas education fairs will be held by all the universities this year to showcase their infrastructure either individually or in tandem. The universities were selected from 200 applicants on the basis of basic infrastructure, experience in providing education to foreign students and courses that can be upgraded on par with international standards. The UGC recently sent a questionnaire on improving the quality of education to all the universities. Emphasis was laid on generation of their own resources by the universities. The PIHEAD can be an alternative to the universities in generating their own resources following a UGC proposal, according to varsity officials.

Hyderabad best suited for setting up IIT

Feb 21, 2004: Hyderabad: Noted academic and Chairman of Vignan Group of Institutions, L. Rathaiah, has favoured setting up the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Hyderabad given logistics like industry and research institutions instead of Basar, where it is being proposed now. IIT is not just another educational institutions to churn out technical graduates but a centre of research that attracts top quality students. The present day higher education and research was inter-disciplinary and hence a very close interaction with all institutes of higher learning was necessary. Under these circumstances, Hyderabad was the best bet. Moreover, when public money to the tune of Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 crores expected to be invested in the first five years in the IIT, it was necessary that objectives that best serve the interest of higher technical education and research were kept in mind. Setting up an IIT in a remote area would spur development. The Guwahati IIT and BITS, Pilani are the best examples. Despite having a highly reputed institution for the last 50 years, Pilani in Rajasthan continues to be a Gram Panchayat. Merely setting up the IIT in a backward area would serve any purpose. Examples of IIT in Kharagpur were also cited.

GO on B.Ed colleges to be amended

Feb 26, 2004: Hyderabad: To check malpractices involved in allotment of vacant seats in the B.Ed minority institutions across the State, plans are on the anvil to amend the Government Order (GO 169), regulating these institutions. According to officials, the GO will make it mandatory for these institutions to surrender the seats falling vacant under the minority quota to the EdCET convenor. A recent Supreme Court judgement had stipulated 85% seats for minority students and 15% seats for others in minority institutions. With the proposed amendment, the institution will have to surrender the vacant seats, which were meant for minority students and the convenor will decide on those seats. It may be noted that the Government had given minority status to 55 institutions in the state just before the EdCET online counselling. As aresult their number in the state rose to 91 out of the more than 300 B.Ed colleges.

ICFAI to offer PG diploma in risk management

Feb 26, 2004: Hyderabad: For the executives yearning to acquire more qualifications, the enterprise risk management programme is in the offing. Considered to be one of the emerging fields in the management sector, the one-year postgraduate diploma course focuses on strategic and operational risks in management. The course content is divided into four modules each of three-months duration. Strategic planning, mergers, acquisitions, managing technology risks involving outsourcing technologies form the first module. Environmental, Political and legal risks affecting the management of affairs are part of second module. Financial and market perspectives along with case studies of major companies like Ford Motors, Dell Computers and Siemens comprise the third and fourth modules. Examinations will be conducted after the completion of each module. ICFAI University will offer the course under the distance-learning mode. The course fee is Rs 25,000 without training classes and Rs 28,000 inclusive of training classes.

IIT to give IIMs a run for their money

Feb 27, 2004: Kolkata: The Indian Institute of Management Calcutta will soon have stiff competition from a relatively new entrant in top notch B-education — IIT Kharagpur. The Union ministry of human resources development has approved Rs 10-crore expansion plan for the elite technology institute to upgrade its management programme in the 2004 session itself. The course is being dubbed as the most superior management course in the country but the fees will be cheaper than IIMs. IIT-Kharagpur, which enjoys university status, has been running a Master of Business Management (MBM) course at School of Management since 1993 but on a small scale, for handful IIT students. The IIT-Kharagpur management course is supposedly the best in the country. Besides, IIMs only confer a diploma because they do not have university status but the IIT's two-year MBM programme awards a full-fledged degree. However, getting into IIT-Kharagpur's management course won’t be easy because the admission test will be tougher than CAT.

Moreover, it will be open only to first class B.Tech or BE degree holders. First class degree holders in M.Sc or M.Com or economics may also apply only if they had mathematics at least in their graduation level. About 20,000 square feet is being added for state-of-the art classrooms, labs, common rooms and cafeteria. A hostel with 250 computerised rooms is also being built. The MHRD has promised to help finance the project but IIT-K would have to meet the expenses from the endowment fund for now. The MHRD has also directed the institute’s B-school to run courses for working executives. So, for the first time, the school will run a postgraduate diploma course in business management at its extension centres in Bhubaneshwar and Kolkata.

SC gives IIM fee cuts a go-ahead

Feb 28, 2004: New Delhi: Sticking to its stand that institutes of excellence should not be the exclusive domain of the elite, the Supreme Court upheld the Centre’s decision to drastically reduce the admission fee of six Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 30,000 a year. It passed the order only after the Centre promised not to interfere in the running of these business schools. Additional solicitor-general Mukul Rohtagi also assured the court that the government would grant additional funds to compensate the deficit arising from the reduction in fees. The petitioners had apprehended that the fee reduction would make these institutions completely dependent on the government for funds. They had also feared that the government might interfere in the functioning of the IIMs. The Centre had said it gives Rs 12 crore as annual subsidy to the society running IIMs and subsidies fee to the tune of Rs 2.5 lakh per student.