OBC quota: 'Opening more IIMs, increasing intake is the way'

Bangalore, July 18 (UNI) The Core Group on Management Institutions, headed by Professor Samuel Paul, has unanimously felt the need for opening up new management institutions across the country, besides increasing the existing intake, for implementing the 27 per cent quota for OBC students in higher educational institutes.

Talking to UNI here today, Prof Paul said the Core Group, which met here yesterday to discuss a plan for implementing the impending reservation, elaborately discussed the issue of accommodating 27 per cent OBC students in a phased manner, taking into consideration the constraints, including infrastructure, manpower and financial burden.

He said the Core Group felt that before strengthening the existing infrastructure, manpower and other related issues, the intake of students could not be increased to accommodate the OBC quota at one-go. ''To implement 27 per cent quota for OBC students, the existing IIMs have to double their intake size,'' he opined.

Prof Paul said opening more management institutions across the country was another option the Core Group discussed and it would be communicated to the Oversight Committee on the issue. The Union Government had plans to start a new Institute of Management in a North-Eastern State, possibly in Assam. There were lots of demands to start new IIMs in Pune, Chennai and other parts of the country, he added.

He said the Core Group had also met with Mr M Veerappa Moily, who headed the Oversight Committee, and apprised him of the difficulties IIMs would face in implementing the 27 per cent quota.

To a question, he said the number of students belonging to OBC category getting admission into the six IIMs was increasing. ''Their strength is slightly better than students belonging to Scheduled Castes and Tribes. However, no official assessment has been made about the strength of OBC students in IIMs.'' UNI MV GD RKN1726