NEW DELHI: Ahead of their meeting on Wednesday with Union Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh to address the irritants in their relations with the Government, the directors of six Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) met here on Tuesday.

They refused to divulge details of what transpired at the meeting but indicated that they would avoid a collision course.

"Routine meeting"

According to IIM-Kolkata director Shekhar Chaudhury, the meeting was a routine affair. It was to have been held in Kolkata. But as the Minister called a meeting for Wednesday, "we decided to shift the venue."

IIM-Ahmedabad Director Bakul Dholakia was hopeful of an amicable solution to the controversy over the Ministry's refusal of permission to IIM-Bangalore to open a campus in Singapore. The Ministry contended that the Memorandum of Association of IIM-Bangalore did not allow it to open a campus overseas. Also, the Ministry wanted the IIMs to meet the demand for quality management education within the country first before moving offshore.

Damage-control measure

In a damage-control measure Mr. Singh decided to meet the six directors. On top of the agenda would be autonomy.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail