One of many nation’s top-ranking B-Faculty, The Indian Institute of Administration Ahmedabad (IIMA), which is into its 63rd 12 months, has seen marked modifications over many years, together with its working model, profile of college, and college students… and a few would say even considering. RITU SHARMA stories
Situated in Vastrapur — which was as soon as a suburb of Ahmedabad within the Nineteen Sixties, and is now an upscale locality of the town— the Indian Institute of Administration Ahmedabad (IIMA) has grabbed headlines a number of instances for a various set of causes previously couple of years. Be it the dialogue to deliver down the buildings designed by well-known American architect Louis Kahn, which are actually dilapidated, or to tweak the brand that takes after the stone lattice work from a metropolis mosque, the enrolment of actor Amitabh Bachchan’s granddaughter Navya Naveli Nanda in its Blended Publish Graduate Programme and recently, the alleged suicide of 24-year-old scholar Akshit Bhukya on the campus — the institute continues to be within the public eye.
The institute has been topping the Nationwide Institutional Rating Framework (NIRF) lists since 2020, and it bagged forty second rank in QS World College Rankings in 2024 amongst different accolades. Nonetheless, winds of change have swept throughout the institute within the final 20 years — the addition of a brand new campus linked to the previous one by way of a subway, which additionally acts as a walk-through exhibit sharing particulars of the folks behind the IIMA’s inception. Through the years, the campus that had turn into a well-liked hangout spot, particularly the Rambhai’s kitli — a literal hole-in-the-wall tea put up — has restricted entry now. The sooner or later within the 12 months that was designated for the campus tour stays discontinued since Covid-19.
The Indian Specific spoke to a number of college members who stated that the opening of the brand new campus in 2005 led to an enormous shift. Then got here “a pointy ideological tilt” that started to be seen within the interval round 2007. Round this time, finance skilled Dr Samir Barua grew to become the primary alumnus to occupy the Director’s chair adopted by the institute coping with the worldwide slowdown of 2008. College members say Barua launched a “directoral management” of working model. It was throughout his tenure that the IIMA launched a rigorous college efficiency evaluation system. His successor and Harvard Enterprise Faculty professor Ashish Nanda revised this evaluation system to a efficiency credit score system with an purpose to “incentivise” the school in the direction of analysis and instructing. Nonetheless, Nanda abruptly give up a 12 months earlier than his time period led to 2017 citing private causes. College members recall him as “often travelling” throughout his tenure. A senior college member on the situation of anonymity stated, “Director Errol D’Souza (2018-2023) would take the school alongside… regardless that he confronted a few of the harshest controversies, together with the brand change and the proposal to drag down Louis Kahn’s buildings throughout his tenure”.
Whereas at the price of educational freedom, the hierarchy has gone up within the latest years — extra after 2017 — following the Indian Institutes of Administration Act 2017, the colleges at IIMA are of the opinion that the director has a extra centralised energy or authority to the extent that they’re even advised which books to make use of for his or her programs. There’s additionally a Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), a senior functionary who “offers complete administrative assist for all of the actions of the institute”. He’s additionally the First Appellate Authority (FAA) below the RTI Act, 2005. The CAO participates in enterprise, strategic planning, implementation of insurance policies and oversees each day operations of the institute. The previous few years additionally noticed extra ladies clear the Widespread Admission Take a look at (CAT), the aggressive entrance check to get into the premier B-schools. The presence of girls grew from 11 per cent in 2002 to 23 per cent in 2022 within the flagship two-year Publish Graduate Programme (PGP). It additionally noticed a change within the profile of the scholars getting into IIMA, with the bulk earlier being from engineering background. From barely 5 per cent non-engineers in 2013, the determine reached to 34 per cent in 2022.
One other college member, requesting anonymity, stated, “Within the final one 12 months, there have been stark modifications like three programs that had been taught by visiting schools — Prof Harsh Mander, Prof Paranjoy Guha Thakurtha and Sandeep Pandey — had been cancelled final 12 months with out citing any cause. Whereas Mander was a visiting college for the final 12 years, Guha was taking elective programs for the final 19 years and Pandey for seven years.”
“Earlier, we might simply need to do paperwork and go forward with an extracurricular exercise. Now, even for small issues like a movie present together with a chat by the filmmaker is both not allowed or will get no response. So, many schools have given up on such actions,” a college member advised The Indian Specific.
Following the enforcement of the IIM Act 2017, and after the modification in 2023, a extra authoritarian tradition is seen now, as per a number of folks on campus. The IIM Act 2023 amends the 2017 Act to present the President extra authority over the institutes. As a Customer, the President is given the ability to audit the functioning of the IIMs and order investigations together with appointment of the director. The board of governors (BoG) ought to get his approval earlier than appointing a director. The Customer additionally nominates one member of the three-member choice committee for the director’s place. The Customer can terminate a director’s providers and in addition nominate the chairperson. Whereas some academicians consider that the amendments enhance accountability, others, nonetheless, say these enable the federal government to make use of the IIMs for his or her agenda. Sources say, earlier college students can be given a funds for various actions. “However the issues accentuated throughout The Pink Bricks Summit (TRBS),” a ultimate 12 months scholar advised The Indian Specific. Bhukya, a final-year scholar from Telangana who was the TRBS coordinator, was discovered lifeless in his room a day earlier than the occasion on September 26. The scholar’s father Hemanth attributed the loss of life to strain from a workers member. Following the incident, the College students’ Affair Committee (SAC) basic secretary Atman Soni wrote to director Prof Bharat Bhasker, the board of governors’ alumni and college alleging that an administrative officer was accountable for the loss of life whereas demanding a panel to probe the matter. Director Bhasker later met with the SAC members and the institute additionally shaped an Evaluation, Evaluation and Reform (ARR) committee to evaluate the key scholar occasions involving exterior and administrative interfaces. The IIMA known as off the TRBS after Bhukya’s loss of life, however the identical day, the institute hosted a Chintan Shivir presided over by CM Bhupendra Patel for his officers, wrote the scholars of their letter to the director.
Rising disconnect
The school members and college students whereas talking to The Indian Specific shared that the interplay between them has now turn into “minimal” together with discount of frequent social areas on campus. The brand new campus has single-occupancy hostel rooms with no shared amenities whereas the previous hostels had frequent loos, stated one among them. Meenakshi Nath, a 1987-batch IIMA alumna who did a survey in 2022 protecting 105 college students of each previous and new campus says, “85 per cent college students most popular the previous campus”. “…the natural interplay that may occur on the previous campus is now not there. The brand new campus is nice for privateness however affords nothing to boost interplay. Within the age of social media, you must deal with bodily interactions,” she added.
Prof G Raghuram (69), an alumnus and former college of IIMA (from 1985-2017) who joined in 2017 because the IIM Bangalore director believes that interactions have additionally modified due to enhance in variety of college students on the campus in addition to college. All institutes have to step up in how they cope with psychological well being points, he stated. “The management ought to attain out to the household on indications of any proclivity to character points (in a scholar) together with a rise in counselling/psychotherapy bandwidth of the institute,” he stated.
“There ought to be lively counselling fairly than passive. The variety of counsellors ought to enhance, as an example for 500 college students we’d like at the least 10 counsellors. These points are seen extra within the first and second semesters when the scholars are new to the efficiency strain. Mother and father ought to be inspired to share any prior situations of character points. The establishment has a accountability over time when the coed is of their cost,” he added.
In the meantime, a scholar stated there was a “sturdy disconnect between college, administration and college students now”. Based on the coed, “The PGP workplace has now turn into like a central management… college students are even afraid of speaking on to the school now”. College students from over 25 golf equipment and exercise teams really feel that approvals have turn into uncommon and selective in nature. “The IIMA administration not too long ago declined a music occasion request of a Carnatic musician. In one other occasion, college students had been charged for an occasion inviting an creator for a chat,” one of many college students related to the occasion advised The Indian Specific. A senior college member shared how earlier the school and educational council was lively and is now redundant. “The school council has now become a non-decision-making physique. Within the emblem change case, it was authorised by the BoG after which dropped at the discover of the school. Even within the case of the previous campus, the school council had no say,” one other college member said.
Louis Kahn buildings
The previous campus educational block has not been used since July 2022. Now, the school is unfold throughout previous and new campuses, when it comes to lodging and places of work. From about a bit of over 100 common college members, 95 per cent are staying on the previous campus whereas others are on the brand new one. Speaking in regards to the “emotional join”, Ashok Shah, a former administrative official at IIMA, stated: “We didn’t know the worth of Louis Kahn designs nor had these eyes to understand them however there may be actually one thing about them.”
“I realised it whereas working with completely different teams of people that visited the campus from the world over… simply because it’s one among Louis Kahn’s buildings. There have been scheduled group excursions for visiting the constructing,” Shah stated. “There have been no funds constraints however then take a look at the designs… the smaller private areas and the bigger public areas. Although there have been smaller rooms for college and college students, the library constructing is the tallest. He believed college students ought to work together with folks as they’re within the administration subject.” Until 2022, all the school places of work had been within the Louis Kahn Plaza; now they’re unfold throughout Kasturbhai Lalbhai Administration Growth Centre (KLMDC), New Tutorial Block and the Discussion board Tower.
Restoration of heritage campus
In 2013, IIMA chosen Somaya and Kalappa Consultants to hold out the restoration work on the previous campus. The primary buildings to be restored had been Vikram Sarabhai Library and Dorm 15. Library restoration work was accomplished in 2018, after over two years. The library constructing located on the apex of the Louis Kahn Plaza was constructed between 1968-75. The library consists of floor plus 4 flooring and is split into two wings by a central circulation space which has two staircases (with a typical touchdown) on both facet. The restoration mission additionally received the Award of Distinction of the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation in 2019. Beneath the second part, the restoration work on Dorm 15 began in 2016 and accomplished inside a 12 months. The dormitory D15, a boys’ dorm, was among the many first set of dormitories constructed on campus round 1964-69.
Altering rules
The IIM Act 2023 mandates the director be appointed by the Board of Governors, primarily based on the suggestions of a search-cum-selection committee. The board has to acquire prior approval of the Customer earlier than the appointment, the process for which is prescribed by the Centre. The Search Committee includes the Board Chairperson and three members. The Act reduces these three members to 2, and provides one other member to be nominated by the Customer. Going by the IIM Act 2017, the director ought to be the chief govt officer of the institute and be accountable for implementation of the Board’s selections. The director ought to be appointed from names really useful by search panel constituted by the Board, consisting of the board chairperson. The Board Chairperson must also be the Chairperson of the search- cum-selection committee and the three members within the panel ought to be eminent directors, industrialists or educationists. If the board just isn’t glad with the suggestions, it might ask for contemporary suggestions.
The Indian Specific tried to contact Prof Bharat Bhasker, who took over as IIMA director on March 1, 2023, however obtained no response. E-mail to BoG chairman Pankaj Patel for remarks on the matter additionally didn’t elicit a reply.
