From rxpgnews.com

India Business
IIMs to release first admission list April 21
Apr 12, 2007 - 7:02:58 PM

Ahmedabad, April 12 - The six Indian Institutes of Management - deferred announcement of admission lists till April 21 following Supreme Court stay on the caste-based quota policy, though a government circular had asked them to halt the process till further orders.

IIM-Ahmedabad director Bakul Dholakia said all the six institutes decided to defer the admission process but 'not for a long time'.

On April 5, the Human Resource Development - ministry had asked them to put the admissions on hold as the apex court had stayed the government's move to implement 27 percent quota for the Other Backward Classes - in higher educational institutions - including the IIMs - from the next academic session.

'The first list of admission would be out on April 21. The list that will be released would be according to the capacity of last year. The additional seats which we were planning to add would be on hold,' Dholakia told reporters here.

'After an internal discussion, all the six IIMs have unanimously arrived at this decision. We should protect the interests of the student community,' he added.

He said the decision was taken as students were facing uncertainty and financial loss. Some of the IIMs were to release their first admission list Thursday.

In a veiled attack on the government, the director said: 'There was no discussion with us before the government moved the circular. Had there been a consultation they would have proposed what we have decided today.'

After parliament decided to go ahead with the 27 percent quota for OBC students in all government funded higher educational institutes, the six IIMs had assured that this would be implemented in three years beginning with the 2007-08 session.

Citing lack of data on the OBC population, the Supreme Court on March 29, had temporarily stayed the government's directive to implement quotas from this academic session.

Meanwhile, the HRD ministry is planning to petition the apex court against the stay, as the next hearing is in August - much after the regular sessions begin in June.



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