Six IIMs defer admission list till April 21

Ahmedabad, Apr 12: The six Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) will announce their admission list for the academic year 2007-09, barring those for the OBC category, on April 21, IIM-A director Bakul Dholakia said here today.

He said the list will be as per the IIMs' last year's capacity, and a decision on implementing the OBC quota with expanded intake, would be made only on receiving directives from Human Resources Ministry.

As per schedule, the offers of admissions were to be released today.

A decision to announce a new date was taken after a series of discussion the directors of all the six IIMs had on the issue via video conferencing, he told a press conference here.

The collective decision of the IIMs will be communicated to the government by Dr Prakash Apte, IIM-B Director.

''We could not have delayed the admission process indefinitely.

It is for the first time that we have not stuck to our schedule of releasing the offer letters,'' he said.

Giving details, Dr Dholakia said while the offers of admissions to 1350 IIM seats (250 for IIM-A) will be made on April 21, decision for the 150 seat, that were to be added following the phased implementation of OBC quota will be taken later, either on a Ministry directive or a Supreme Court order. ''This does not alter the status of OBC quota implementation as it would have required expansion of capacity. We are only deferring the intake process rather that admission process,'' he emphasised.

He said as the courses start by June and a three-week preparatory course for academically and economically backward students is conducted every year, there was not much time on hand for the IIMs, but to go ahead with the admissions for existing number of seats.

The admission process to the IIMs had been halted following a Union HRD Ministry directive on April 5. It had advised the IIMs not to issue offers of admission until further orders.

The Ministry's directive came in the wake of a stay imposed by the Supreme Court on March 29 on its move to provide 27 per cent OBC quota in Central institutions.

He also expressed apprehension that as 81 institutes also decide their admissions based on CAT scores, the quality of intake into IIMs this year might be affected.

He assured the government of all cooperation and reiterated that this decision was taken to protect the interests of the students, so that they did not have to face any financial loss.

Following the Centre's move to provide OBC reservation in Central institutions, it had been decided that the reservation in IIMs would be implemented phasewise with a corresponding increase in seats. While the IIM-A was to implement a six per cent reservation for the OBCs, it meant a 12 per cent increase in the number of seats, meaning 30 seats were to be added this year.

While IIM-B was to go in for seven per cent OBC reservation and 14 per cent corresponding seat expansion, IIM-Calcutta had plans to implement a three per cent reservation and six per cent seat expansion, IIM-Indore four per cent reservation and eight per cent seat expansion and IIM-Kozhikode 4.5 per cent reservation and nine per cent seat expansion and IIM-Lucknow eight per cent reservation and 16 per cent seat expansion.

Admissions to these seats will be on hold till the centre issues a directive said Dr Dholakia.

UNI