The Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIM-C) has hiked the course fee for its flagship two-year PGP programme by five per cent to ₹21 lakh for the academic session 2018-2020.
According to Shrikrishna Kulkarni, Chairman, Board of Governors, IIM-C, the fee hike is mainly to adjust to inflation.
The institute, which used to review its fee structure once in three years, is now looking to conduct annual reviews. The last time it hiked the fees was in 2016.
“The fee structure (of IIMs) has to be reviewed just like any other product price, in its entirety. We used to review it once in five years, then it came down to three years; now we need to evaluate it at a faster pace,” Kulkarni told newspersons after the 53rd annual convocation on Saturday.
Wait and watch
Despite the IIM Act 2017 allowing IIMs to confer management degrees instead of post-graduate diplomas, IIM-C has decided to take a ‘wait and watch’ approach. The institute has awarded diplomas to its outgoing batch (2016-18).
According to Kulkarni, the institute’s faculty body, after due deliberations, observed that there are some ‘technical and legal’ hurdles to shifting immediately to degrees.
IIM Bangalore and two other B-schools awarded degrees to its graduates starting this year. The remaining 17, including IIM-C, have put the decision on hold for now.
“The process of moving from a diploma to a degree has to be seamless. We will strive to start giving degrees from next year. But it will all depend on how soon we (all the 17 IIMs) arrive at a consensus,” he said.
Fund raising
Following the IIM Act 2017, IIMs enjoy full autonomy, including financial, provided no demand for short term or long term funds is made from the government. Accordingly, IIM-C will have to raise its own revenue to meet all development needs, he pointed out.
Competition would also take a new form under the provision of the Act, he said. “Institutions working hard and taking risks will be at an advantage as they will be able to benefit from the academic freedom and financial autonomy fully.”
IIM-C also plans to take a ‘fresh look’ at each of its products and make suitable changes, as needed, apart from designing fresh products.
According to him, the range of subjects which the government expects IIMs to address is wider than what they are currently addressing. “It includes management areas of concern not only to corporates but also to areas of social and public concern,” he said.
Srikant M Datar, Senior Associate Dean, Harvard Business School, delivered the convocation address.