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Former Central Bank chief recommends IIM fees to be based on cost
Ahmedabad, Apr 04: Former central bank chief says let B-school fees be based on cost.
Ahmedabad, Apr 04: Former central bank chief says let B-school fees be based on cost.
India`s former central bank chief on Saturday (April 3) said the cost of education should determine the fee structure of the country`s top B-schools.
The western Ahmedabad-based Indian Institute of Mangagement (IIM-A) has been in the eye of a storm eversince the federal government ordered its annual fee to be cut from 150,000 to 30,000 rupees, or from US$ 3,000 to US $600 (approx.).
Delivering the convocation address at IIM-A, Bimal Jalan said that the institutes that could not to recover the cost of education would go out of business.
"The issue is of cost and how this cost is to reflect in the alternative challenge of this for meeting of this cost.
If it is not able to recover the cost, it will either go out of business or the quality of its output must deteriorate, because, we will assume that the cost has been examined," Jalan said.
Earlier in the day, IIM-A said its fee structure for the coming term will remain unchanged, defying a federal government directive to cut tuition fees.
The IIM has already filed a petition in the country`s apex court seeking assurance on autonomy from the government after the apex court ruled in favour of the fee cut.
The school feared that the fees rebate would compromise the quality of education being offered and also herald government interference in the school functioning.
The government is yet to give any guarantee that it would not interfere in the functioning of the IIM.
The federal government has been facing a massive protest from the business and industry, accusing it of curbing the autonomy of the state-funded to management institutes.
The fees were hiked by board of directors of the six IIMs recently citing expenditure but the government argued that higher education should be affordable to all.
Jalan added that subsidising the cost of education would have to be examined from an economic point of view.
"Now let us also assume that the government or any authority, in its wisdom decides to further subsidise, and reduce the fees that a particular institution charges to cover its cost, after taking into account, its endowments, subsidies, any other grant that it receives. Then the economic issue, purely economic issue from the public point of view is, why this larger subsidy from public funds," Jalan added.
While two of the IIM`s at southern Kozhikode and central Indore have agreed to slash tuition charges, the others are still fighting against the government intervention.
Bureau Report
If it is not able to recover the cost, it will either go out of business or the quality of its output must deteriorate, because, we will assume that the cost has been examined," Jalan said.
Earlier in the day, IIM-A said its fee structure for the coming term will remain unchanged, defying a federal government directive to cut tuition fees.
The IIM has already filed a petition in the country`s apex court seeking assurance on autonomy from the government after the apex court ruled in favour of the fee cut.
The school feared that the fees rebate would compromise the quality of education being offered and also herald government interference in the school functioning.
The government is yet to give any guarantee that it would not interfere in the functioning of the IIM.
The federal government has been facing a massive protest from the business and industry, accusing it of curbing the autonomy of the state-funded to management institutes.
The fees were hiked by board of directors of the six IIMs recently citing expenditure but the government argued that higher education should be affordable to all.
Jalan added that subsidising the cost of education would have to be examined from an economic point of view.
"Now let us also assume that the government or any authority, in its wisdom decides to further subsidise, and reduce the fees that a particular institution charges to cover its cost, after taking into account, its endowments, subsidies, any other grant that it receives. Then the economic issue, purely economic issue from the public point of view is, why this larger subsidy from public funds," Jalan added.
While two of the IIM`s at southern Kozhikode and central Indore have agreed to slash tuition charges, the others are still fighting against the government intervention.
Bureau Report