India - IIM panel not keen on off-shore campuses

The plans of Indian Institutes of Managements (IIMs) to open campuses in foreign countries has not found favour with the IIM Review Committee, which has advocated using existing resources to the fullest before further expansions. The committee was set up by the government.

The committee, headed by Maruti Suzuki Chairman RC Bhargava, said IIMs needed to concentrate on reaching the “optimum level” of resource utilisation. The committee has submitted its report to HRD Minister Arjun Singh.

“We have suggested the formula of economy of scale, which means that bigger the scale, the less is the economy factor,” said a panel member. The IIMs should concentrate on utilising their own resources to the optimum level so that more students get education, he said.

“After you utilise all resources to the fullest and there is no scope for expansion at your own campus, you can look forward to opening campuses in foreign countries or elsewhere,” he said.

This recommendation assumes significance in the backdrop of IIM-Bangalore planning to open a campus in Singapore. It had approached the HRD ministry in this connection last year.

The committee is of the view that major IIMs, including IIM-Ahmedabad and IIM-Bangalore, can increase their yearly intake to 750 if they focus on optimising resources.a

The present intake capacity of all seven IIMs is about 1,800. By increasing their intake, the institutes could enhance their efficiency, said the member. The government has decided to start another six IIMs by next year.

“Not that all IIMs can increase their intake to 750. But those institutes which have the scope can certainly do it,” he said. The committee has suggested simultaneous augmentation of facilities and teachers’ strength to take care of the planned increase in the intake.

The HRD minister is talking to experts for a decision on the report, which has suggested a road map on creating excellence in management education.

The committee was constituted by the government after a period 15 years to look into the overall functioning of the IIMs. The last such committee was set up in 1992. Prior to that, such a panel was constituted in 1977.