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IIMs hold back admission process till April 21

DH News Service, Ahmedabad/Bangalore:

The directors of the six Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) have decided to defer the admission process till April 21.

The directors of the six Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) on Thursday decided to defer the admission process till April 21.

The admissions were supposed to end on April 12, but in the wake of the Supreme Court order putting on hold the implementation of 27 per cent OBC quota in elite institutions, the Human Resources Development Ministry had asked the institutes not to go ahead with the admissions.

Thursday’s decision taken over a tele-conference by the six directors of the IIMs is in direct conflict with the April-5 communication by the HRD Ministry advising the institutes not to declare any admissions until further intimation. The communication had followed a Supreme Court stay order on March 25 on phase-wise implementation of the OBC quotas in IIMs across the country.

Dr Bakul Dholakia, director of IIM-Ahmedabad, while announcing the decision at a press conference, said that the admissions on April 21 would be done as per the capacity of each institute in the previous academic year (2006-07). “We have decided that we cannot wait beyond April 21 as it will affect the quality of intake from the top 2,000-3,000 students who will have a deadline problem,” he said.

Dr Dholakia said it would have been ideal if the HRD ministry had consulted the IIMs before handing out a directive on holding back admissions. The institutes preferred that the ministry took a decision on OBC reservation before April 21, he added. The IIMs cannot defer the admissions any further as it would affect the process in 81 management institutions affiliated to IIMs. “We have an agreement with these institutions, which also draw their students from the CAT exams, wherein they can start their admission process by April 16,” he said.

Mr Dholakia said that 1,350 students would be admitted to the six IIMs as per the capacity of the previous year.



At IIM-B

“Admissions to the additional seats which have been increased to implement the OBC quota will be held back and a decision on those will be taken later as per the Supreme Court directive or communication from the HRD ministry,” he added.

In Bangalore, IIM-B Director Prakash G Apte said the institutes were pushing for a quick end to the deadlock.

With the inclusion of 19 OBC students and increase in other categories, the IIM-B intake for the Post Graduate Programme (PGP) was set to go up from 240 to 270. The confusion with regard to implementation of OBC quota has put the institutes in a fix, delaying even the first list of 240.

Mr Apte said IIM-B had already communicated its apprehensions to the HRD ministry. He said the delay would also upset the academic calendar. The last date for joining the PGP in IIM-B is June 30. All interviews,for about 1,080 candidates, are over and the institute now has to intimate the successful candidates.

“After releasing the admission list, it will take three weeks to have it accepted and another three for a preparatory programme for candidates who are weak in certain areas. The process will take the month of June,” Ganesh N Prabhu, PGP Chair, IIM-B said.

In line with the Oversight Committee recommendations, IIM-B was set to implement the 27 per cent OBC reservation over three years.

: seven per cent in the first year and 10 per cent each in the next two years.