IIM boards to be reconstituted by December 15: HRD ministry clears process

The process of constitution of boards for the IIMs is a major development which signals complete autonomy of quality institutions in higher education, HRD minister Prakash Javadekar said.

The Boards of Governors (BoG) of the 20 prestigious Indian Institutes of Management would be reconstituted as required by the IIM Act passed last year by December 15, with the Union HRD ministry giving its nod to the process on Monday.

The process of constitution of boards for the IIMs is a major development which signals complete autonomy of quality institutions in higher education, HRD minister Prakash Javadekar said. (PTI)

“The process of constitution of Boards for the IIMs, which have been given full powers of running the institutions, is a major development which signals complete autonomy of quality institutions in higher education and will ensure quality expansion of higher education,” HRD minister Prakash Javadekar said in a statement.

According to the ministry, the process was in accordance with the provisions of the IIM Act 2017 and was approved in consultation with the law and justice ministry.

The government has also decided to immediately withdraw government nominees who are in excess of the provisions of the Act. This will pave way for complete control of the institutions by reputed academicians and alumni, it said.

However, in most cases, it was expected that the existing chairpersons of the board of governors would be retained.

The IIM Act provides more autonomy for these coveted B-schools. However, the process of constitution of appointment of board of governors had remained a major puzzle over which there was much deliberation.

Officials said the process of constitution of the first boards would be kicked off with the three ex-officio members — the director, a representative of the state government and a representative of the Centre.

These three would select a chairperson, who shall normally be the “current chairperson” and would be given the full term under the new Act (except where there are issues of ineligibility), the statement said.

Then on, the chairperson would lead the further process of constitution of the boards of governors. Thereafter, the board consisting of chairperson and ex-officio members will co-opt five alumni from each of the IIMs, who will normally be the current serving members, the statement said.

In the first meeting of the board, the regulations for selection of four eminent persons and two faculty members would be framed and based on this, normally the current serving persons would be selected for a full term, the statement added.

“This process is expected to be completed before December 15, 2018. On completion of the constitution of the boards in the above manner, the rules under the IIM Act would be issued, which would bring out the operational details more clearly,” the HRD ministry statement said.