Beyond the bricks: IIMA’s progression through decades

The institute has been topping the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) lists since 2020, and it bagged 42nd fertile successful QS World University Rankings successful 2024 among different accolades. However, winds of alteration person swept crossed the institute successful the past 2 decades — the summation of a caller field connected to the aged 1 done a subway, which besides acts arsenic a walk-through grounds sharing details of the radical down the IIMA’s inception. Over the years, the field that had go a fashionable hangout spot, particularly the Rambhai’s kitli — a literal hole-in-the-wall beverage station — has restricted entree now. The 1 time successful the twelvemonth that was designated for the field circuit remains discontinued since Covid-19.

The Indian Express spoke to respective module members who said that the opening of the caller field successful 2005 brought astir a immense shift. Then came “a crisp ideological tilt” that began to beryllium seen successful the play astir 2007. Around this time, concern adept Dr Samir Barua became the archetypal alumnus to inhabit the Director’s seat followed by the institute dealing with the planetary slowdown of 2008. Faculty members accidental Barua introduced a “directoral control” of moving style. It was during his tenure that the IIMA introduced a rigorous module show appraisal system. His successor and Harvard Business School prof Ashish Nanda revised this appraisal strategy to a show recognition strategy with an purpose to “incentivise” the module towards probe and teaching. However, Nanda abruptly discontinue a twelvemonth earlier his word ended successful 2017 citing idiosyncratic reasons. Faculty members callback him arsenic “frequently travelling” during his tenure. A elder module subordinate connected the information of anonymity said, “Director Errol D’Souza (2018-2023) would instrumentality the module along… adjacent though helium faced immoderate of the harshest controversies, including the logo alteration and the connection to propulsion down Louis Kahn’s buildings during his tenure”.

While astatine the outgo of world freedom, the hierarchy has gone up successful the caller years — much aft 2017 — pursuing the Indian Institutes of Management Act 2017, the faculties astatine IIMA are of the sentiment that the manager has a much centralised powerfulness oregon authorization to the grade that they are adjacent told which books to usage for their courses. There is besides a Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), a elder functionary who “provides full administrative enactment for each the activities of the institute”. He is besides the First Appellate Authority (FAA) nether the RTI Act, 2005. The CAO participates successful business, strategical planning, implementation of policies and oversees time to time operations of the institute. The past fewer years besides saw much women wide the Common Admission Test (CAT), the competitory entranceway trial to get into the premier B-schools. The beingness of women grew from 11 per cent successful 2002 to 23 per cent successful 2022 successful the flagship two-year Post Graduate Programme (PGP). It besides saw a alteration successful the illustration of the students entering IIMA, with the bulk earlier being from engineering background. From hardly 5 per cent non-engineers successful 2013, the fig reached to 34 per cent successful 2022.

Another module member, requesting anonymity, said, “In the past 1 year, determination person been stark changes similar 3 courses that were taught by visiting faculties — Prof Harsh Mander, Prof Paranjoy Guha Thakurtha and Sandeep Pandey — were cancelled past twelvemonth without citing immoderate reason. While Mander was a visiting module for the past 12 years, Guha was taking elective courses for the past 19 years and Pandey for 7 years.”

“Earlier, we would conscionable person to bash paperwork and spell up with an extracurricular activity. Now, adjacent for tiny things similar a movie amusement on with a speech by the filmmaker is either not allowed oregon gets nary response. So, galore faculties person fixed up connected specified activities,” a module subordinate told The Indian Express.

Following the enforcement of the IIM Act 2017, and aft the amendment successful 2023, a much authoritarian civilization is seen now, arsenic per respective radical connected campus. The IIM Act 2023 amends the 2017 Act to springiness the President much authorization implicit the institutes. As a Visitor, the President is fixed the powerfulness to audit the functioning of the IIMs and bid investigations on with assignment of the director. The committee of governors (BoG) should get his support earlier appointing a director. The Visitor besides nominates 1 subordinate of the three-member enactment committee for the director’s position. The Visitor tin terminate a director’s services and besides nominate the chairperson. While immoderate academicians judge that the amendments summation accountability, others, however, accidental these let the authorities to usage the IIMs for their agenda. Sources say, earlier students would beryllium fixed a budget for antithetic activities. “But the things accentuated during The Red Bricks Summit (TRBS),” a last twelvemonth pupil told The Indian Express. Bhukya, a final-year pupil from Telangana who was the TRBS coordinator, was recovered dormant successful his country a time earlier the lawsuit connected September 26. The student’s begetter Hemanth attributed the decease to unit from a unit member. Following the incident, the Students’ Affair Committee (SAC) wide caput Atman Soni wrote to manager Prof Bharat Bhasker, the committee of governors’ alumni and module alleging that an administrative serviceman was liable for the decease portion demanding a sheet to probe the matter. Director Bhasker aboriginal met with the SAC members and the institute besides formed an Assessment, Review and Reform (ARR) committee to reappraisal the large pupil events involving outer and administrative interfaces. The IIMA called disconnected the TRBS aft Bhukya’s death, but the aforesaid day, the institute hosted a Chintan Shivir presided implicit by CM Bhupendra Patel for his officials, wrote the students successful their missive to the director.

Growing disconnect

The module members and students portion speaking to The Indian Express shared that the enactment betwixt them has present go “minimal” on with simplification of communal societal spaces connected campus. The caller field has single-occupancy hostel rooms with nary shared facilities portion the aged hostels had communal bathrooms, said 1 of them. Meenakshi Nath, a 1987-batch IIMA alumna who did a survey successful 2022 covering 105 students of some aged and caller field says, “85 per cent students preferred the aged campus”. “…the integrated enactment that would hap connected the aged field is nary longer there. The caller field is large for privateness but offers thing to heighten interaction. In the property of societal media, you person to absorption connected carnal interactions,” she added.

Prof G Raghuram (69), an alumnus and erstwhile module of IIMA (from 1985-2017) who joined successful 2017 arsenic the IIM Bangalore manager believes that interactions person besides changed due to the fact that of summation successful fig of students connected the field arsenic good arsenic faculty. All institutes request to measurement up successful however they woody with intelligence wellness issues, helium said. “The enactment should scope retired to the household connected indications of immoderate proclivity to property issues (in a student) on with an summation successful counselling/psychotherapy bandwidth of the institute,” helium said.

“There should beryllium progressive counselling alternatively than passive. The fig of counsellors should increase, for lawsuit for 500 students we request astatine slightest 10 counsellors. These issues are seen much successful the archetypal and 2nd semesters erstwhile the students are caller to the show pressure. Parents should beryllium encouraged to stock immoderate anterior instances of property issues. The instauration has a work implicit the years erstwhile the pupil is successful their charge,” helium added.

Meanwhile, a pupil said determination was a “strong disconnect betwixt faculty, medication and students now”. According to the student, “The PGP bureau has present go similar a cardinal control… students are adjacent frightened of talking straight to the module now”. Students from implicit 25 clubs and enactment groups consciousness that approvals person go uncommon and selective successful nature. “The IIMA medication precocious declined a euphony lawsuit petition of a Carnatic musician. In different instance, students were charged for an lawsuit inviting an writer for a talk,” 1 of the students associated with the lawsuit told The Indian Express. A elder module subordinate shared however earlier the module and world assembly was progressive and is present redundant. “The module assembly has present turned into a non-decision-making body. In the logo alteration case, it was approved by the BoG and past brought to the announcement of the faculty. Even successful the lawsuit of the aged campus, the module assembly had nary say,” different module subordinate stated.

Louis Kahn buildings

The aged field world artifact has not been utilized since July 2022. Now, the module is dispersed crossed aged and caller campuses, successful presumption of accommodation and offices. From astir a small implicit 100 regular module members, 95 per cent are staying connected the aged field portion others are connected the caller one. Talking astir the “emotional connect”, Ashok Shah, a erstwhile administrative authoritative astatine IIMA, said: “We did not cognize the worth of Louis Kahn designs nor had those eyes to admit them but determination is surely thing astir them.”
“I realised it portion moving with antithetic groups of radical who visited the field from crossed the world… conscionable due to the fact that it is 1 of Louis Kahn’s buildings. There were scheduled radical tours for visiting the building,” Shah said. “There were nary fund constraints but past look astatine the designs… the smaller idiosyncratic spaces and the larger nationalist spaces. Though determination were smaller rooms for module and students, the room gathering is the tallest. He believed students should interact with radical arsenic they are successful the absorption field.” Till 2022, each the module offices were successful the Louis Kahn Plaza; present they are dispersed crossed Kasturbhai Lalbhai Management Development Centre (KLMDC), New Academic Block and the Forum Tower.

Restoration of practice campus

In 2013, IIMA selected Somaya and Kalappa Consultants to transportation retired the restoration enactment connected the aged campus. The archetypal buildings to beryllium restored were Vikram Sarabhai Library and Dorm 15. Library restoration enactment was completed successful 2018, aft implicit 2 years. The room gathering situated astatine the apex of the Louis Kahn Plaza was constructed betwixt 1968-75. The room consists of crushed positive 4 floors and is divided into 2 wings by a cardinal circulation country which has 2 staircases (with a communal landing) connected either side. The restoration task besides won the Award of Distinction of the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation successful 2019. Under the 2nd phase, the restoration enactment connected Dorm 15 started successful 2016 and completed wrong a year. The dormitory D15, a boys’ dorm, was among the archetypal acceptable of dormitories constructed connected field astir 1964-69.

Changing regulations

The IIM Act 2023 mandates the manager beryllium appointed by the Board of Governors, based connected the recommendations of a search-cum-selection committee. The committee has to get anterior support of the Visitor earlier the appointment, the process for which is prescribed by the Centre. The Search Committee comprises the Board Chairperson and 3 members. The Act reduces these 3 members to two, and adds different subordinate to beryllium nominated by the Visitor. Going by the IIM Act 2017, the manager should beryllium the main enforcement serviceman of the institute and beryllium liable for implementation of the Board’s decisions. The manager should beryllium appointed from names recommended by hunt sheet constituted by the Board, consisting of the committee chairperson. The Board Chairperson should besides beryllium the Chairperson of the search- cum-selection committee and the 3 members successful the sheet should beryllium eminent administrators, industrialists oregon educationists. If the committee is not satisfied with the recommendations, it whitethorn inquire for caller recommendations.

The Indian Express tried to interaction Prof Bharat Bhasker, who took implicit arsenic IIMA manager connected March 1, 2023, but got nary response. Email to BoG president Pankaj Patel for remarks connected the substance besides did not elicit a reply.