The HRD Ministry announced on Monday the process of setting up new Board of Governors (BoG) for each Indian Institute of Management (IIM) under the new IIM Act.
A communique issued by the ministry said that each of the Boards had to be constituted afresh with the three ex-officio members — institute’s current director, existing representatives of the state government and Union government on the Board. The members would then select a chairperson, following which, the BoG would co-opt five alumni members.
The government hailed the announcement as “historic” and claimed that it provided a comprehensive autonomy to the higher educational institutions.
However, director of one of the older IIMs, without wishing to be named, told The Indian Express that the process of constituting the Board, as prescribed by the government, was “bad” as per principles of good governance. “To my mind, the first step itself is wrong. The director is typically the CEO of the institute and is appointed by the chairman. The director should not appoint the chairman. It’s an example of bad governance.
The process of constituting the BoG was decided by the HRD Ministry in consultation with the Law Ministry and the PMO.