NEW DELHI, APRIL 1 : Chairman of the governing council of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA) Vijaypat Singhania has been asked by the HRD Ministry to explain what it calls the “unwarranted tripling of fees” from Rs 4 lakh to Rs 11.5 lakh. Singhania is expected to meet Singh tomorrow.

It is learnt that Singhania was today told by Ministry officials that HRD Minister Arjun Singh was “upset” over the IIMA’s decision. HRD officials are also irked that they were caught unawares. Two of the Ministry’s representatives Higher Education Secretary R P Agrawal and Financial Advisor S K Ray did not attend the meeting on Saturday. The proposal to hike the fees was not circulated in the agenda of the board meeting, they claimed.

While Ministry officials claim that IIM-A “doesn’t need” a three-fold hike which may affect access to economically weaker students, the IIM has, in fact, increased the income-limit for parents of students applying for a scholarship. The existing income limit for parents or guardians of students, who want to avail of scholarships, is Rs 2 lakh per year. This has been increased to Rs 6 lakh per year which significantly widens the net of students eligible for scholarships.

Pointing out that between 2002 and 2007, the institute raised its fees from Rs 1.58 lakh to Rs 2 lakh, Ministry officials argue for a “gradual and graded increase.” And added that as for expansion, it was the Government that would pick up the tab — it has earmarked Rs 53 crore for the IIMs based on the Moily committee’s recommendations.

IIMA officials also said the institute is facing a shortage of faculty and in order to get new teachers and retain existing ones, they will have to be given attractive fiscal incentives. “We have to keep in mind the Pay Commission recommendations for salaries as well as higher salaries for those whom we want to keep at industry-level salaries,” an IIM official said.

IIM commissioned a study by an Ahmedabad-based cost accountant — it submitted its report in November last year — which said that cost per student is Rs 3.8 lakh per year. And the institute was charging just Rs 2 lakh per year from students. An IIMA official pointed out, “The recent move by former IIMA director Bakul Dholakia to the Adani group, where he is heading the education initiatives of the group, is a case in point. If we want to keep valuable human resource like him in the institute, we will have to pay faculty members like him much better salaries.” Dholakia is on a year-long leave from IIMA.

IIM-Kozhikode yesterday became the fifth IIM to increase its fees from existing Rs 4 lakh to Rs 6 lakh for the two-year course. IIM Bangalore raised it from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 8 lakh; IIM Kolkata from Rs 4 lakh to Rs 7 lakh and IIM Lucknow from Rs 4 lakh to Rs 5 lakh.