This also means that IIMs are now competing directly with ISB as the gap btw the fees closes & with an extra yr to complete the program it means a hit on ROI.

Also on the other side schools like Great Lakes would gain more deserving candidates as despite being a private school with excellent faculty & a yr to save, the fees would be almost equal if not less.

Because the various “IIM acts” which founded these institutes and also places these institutes under the HRD ministry are still in effect.

I am afraid you guys are missing the point here. I will gladly join a campaign to divest government interest in the IIMs. If that campaign succeeds and say IIM-A is sold to Bharti-Airtel – then they can do whatever they want.

Until that time, the IIMs cannot be too adventerous in exploring the market.

Tuition fees are only one form of subsidy. It is not even the biggest. Taking your line further, do you want the IIMs to pay market price rents/lease for their hundreds of acres of prime public lands ? The IIM board is trying to pick and choose.

I will continue this in a separate blog post.

I have no problems with loans for management education however.

RC,

Is that had been our attitude, then economic reforms would never have happened. We could have all sat on our hunches because then everything was owned/controlled by the government.

You have not answered a simple question: Why should the Indian tax payer pay for your (or mine) management education.

I never said they should not be spun off. That is a separate issue. I too dont think government has any business is tertiary management education.

The issue in front of us is :
*Given that* IIM are government institutes today, how should they be run ?

Think about it, the “if you dont like it here go elsewhere” mantra of capitalism also applies to the IIM faculty and board members.

If they dont like the government subsidy over fees, they are free to join ISB, Great Lakes, or the private sector. They can come back if and when IIMs are spun off.

And why exactly shouldn’t be IIMs be spun off? I see no reason why the Indian taxpayer should subsidize someone’s management education. What is the average salary IIms graduates are getting? Most of them would recover their investment in less than a year!

Education is a product; you don’t get a car free, there is no reason why education should be free. Sure, the poor shouldn’t be deprived of a chance to be admitted into IIMs. The correct answer in that case would be loans.

And yes, there is absolutely no reason why IIT education should be free either or subsidized. I simply fail to understand in a country which cant afford to pay for primary education we can even talk about subsidizing higher education.

Amit,

I agree with RC there. Whether IIM graduates stay in India or not is immaterial.

IMO that should not matter much. We cant assign virtue to local employment. Self interest will always win and should.

Lets assume that IIMs are nothing but magic springboards to Wall Street. Fact still is, it is a government springboard.

This magic springboard must be as approachable and accessible as possible to all.

IMO Government institutes cannot be allowed to fish for optimum market value for their products, which are of intangible nature anyway.

A simple example : I claim that if the IIMs hike the price of their CAT application forms to Rs 10,000 – this would not impact the volume of serious aspirants, while overflowing the coffers. It that doesnt work, try Rs 5,000. If it works well, try Rs 25,000. Should government institutes do this ? Should only IIMs have the luxury of fishing for market value ? Why not ITIs, NITs ?