The Hindu Business Line : IIM-C faculty to contest validity of board meeting

THE faculty council of the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIM-C) on Monday decided to move the Calcutta High Court challenging the validity of the 164th meeting of the board of governors, which took place on March 26, 2004.

Prof Asish Bhattacharyya, Dean (Planning & Administration) and spokesperson of the faculty council, told newspersons that the validity of the said meeting was being called into question since four members had been replaced or substituted just before the crucial meeting to decide on the fee cut issue.

The council has also recommended that the Director of the institute provisionally maintain the fee structure for the forthcoming session, which begins in May.

Prof Bhattacharyya said that the council has suggested that since the board of governors has not been able to take a decision on fee reduction as directed by the Union HRD Ministry, the continuation of the same fee structure was advisable in view of smooth functioning of the institute as per the curriculum.

In the just concluded two-year session, IIM-C had charged a total of around Rs 2.5 lakh. The payments were obtained in various stages. The initial payment was around Rs 48,000.

"We have also suggested to the Director, who was present at the council meeting today, that fee received in excess of what might be finally decided by the board of governors or the Supreme Court be refunded with interest to the students."

Prof Bhattacharyya also said that it has been the practice at IIM-C that before every session the faculty would recommend the fee structure and the board would take it up for approval. The council has also suggested that the Director, in the absence of clarity, might keep aside the Central Government's proposed grant of Rs 4 crore for 2003-04 on account of non-Plan expenditure.

"The fund has not come in yet. But if it comes, the council advises that it should not be used until the matter is resolved by the Supreme Court or through a process of dialogue." Meanwhile, the IIM-C faculty council has requested the Ministry that it be included in the process of dialogue on the fee revision issue.

The council has decided to form a three-member committee consisting of two faculty members and one alumnus for the proposed dialogue.

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