Most IIMS to continue with diplomas this yr

IIMS NOW HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO ISSUE DEGREES AFTER A NEW BILL WAS PASSED IN DEC 2017 BUT MOST SAY RULES ARE UNCLEAR

NEW DELHI: Despite being given the authority to issue degrees, most Indian Institutes of Management (IIMS) are likely issue post-graduate diplomas to their current batch of graduates as rules about the matter were still unclear, said IIM officials on Wednesday.

The Indian Institutes of Management Bill, 2017, which was passed on December 20, 2017 and came into effect from January 31, 2018, empowers IIMS to issue degrees.

Officials said the rules regarding the issue of degrees in the Bill were still to be framed by the human resource development (HRD) ministry. IIM directors held a meeting on Wednesday in New Delhi where the majority of the campuses favoured awarding diplomas, an official familiar with the matter said.

“It was a good meeting and at least 15-odd IIMS said they were in favour of awarding a diploma this year and a degree from next session. Some of the IIMS who were in favour of awarding the degrees will discuss the issue internally... The view of the students will also be taken,” said a senior IIM official who did not want to be named.

Although a committee headed by Iim-sirmaur chairman Ajay Shriram had been constituted by the ministry to frame the rules in a month, these are not finalised.

A few IIMS also took a legal opinion in the issue. “Rules are required to grant degrees. They are yet to be framed. There are multiple issues involved and there are procedural requirements too. At the same time, there has to be parity across the IIMS so a final decision will be taken soon...” said another IIM director. Before the Bill, all the IIMS were separate bodies registered under the Societies Act and were not authorised to award degrees.