What do so many IIMs mean? Do we need them? Will the IIM seal of excellence maintain itself or will more of them only dilute the erstwhile brand. That in totality IIMs is offering 2650 seats is not as important as to what these seats mean to the rest of the higher education system.

Government’s job
Heads of non-IIM institutes say that it is a pre-conceived notion that government is the last say when it comes to school, college or higher education in India. According to Prof Dr Suresh Ghai, director with KJ Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research, the idea to have so many IIMs stems from the fact that the government thinks it can do the best job in education. “Whether it is the case of so many politicians starting educational institutions or the government itself starting institutes, in India the government thinks that it can run the education system better than any private party.”

Pressure on existing IIMs
The opening up of so many new IIMs definitely means extra pressure on the existing IIMs. From faculty to resource sharing, the older IIMs are taking on the load of the newer ones. IIML for instance has been given the task of grooming IIM Rohtak and IIMC has been assigned IIM Ranchi. IIMI will mentor IIM Raipur.

This arrangement makes little sense given the fact that there is already a huge faculty crunch not only among IIMs but also most other MBA institutes in the country. And not only faculty but good faculty is also not easily and readily available.

Incidentally IIM Ranchi had the highest cut-offs among IIMs – at 99.65.

Quantity versus quality
In the bid to open so many IIMs is/will quality take a beating over quality. Fr Pradeep Kerketta, assistant director with Xavier Institute of Social Sciences (Ranchi) says that while there has to be an emphasis on quantity, quality should also keep pace.  “It is good that so many IIMs are coming up as they provide quality education but at no point should this number affect the kind of education being parted. While more IIMs are good, care should be taken that the services offered are consistent and match the standards laid down by the earlier IIMs.”

Land/infrastructure
Another issue of concern among new IIMs is land and infrastructure-related.  Not all the new IIMs, have the sprawling campuses that IIM,A,B or C enjoy. Many are in fact, operating from temporary places.

IIM-Ranchi for instance, is operating out of  Suchana Bhawan (government office building) and the  hostel is across the road at the training hostel of Sri Krishna Sinha Institute of Public Administration.

IIM Ranchi is aggressively hunting for a new campus. There was a 214-acre site chosen at Nagri mouza village but protests by its villagers have forced IIM authorities to scout for a new site. A 40-acre site in Jhiri on the outskirts of Ranchi is being considered at the moment.

With regards to IIM Shillong too, a temporary campus has been set up at the Mayurbhanj complex (the erstwhile summer palace of Mayurbhanj Kings) of the North Eastern Hill

Beneficiaries
Who exactly are the beneficiaries of the new IIMs – with 15 per cent lesser number of people taking the CAT exams this year, is there even a need for so many more IIMs? To this Prof Himanshu Rai says that the drop in the number of CAT takers has nothing to do with the waning interest in CAT. “There are 160 other institutes that take CAT as the entrance exam. It is in this sphere that the interest has gone down. Recession is partly to be blamed for it. But no way are people less interested in joining an IIM.”