The post of Director at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Kozhikode is lying vacant for more than two years even as the Centre appointed new Directors to 10 IIMs on Friday.
The IIM Kozhikode has been one of the 13 out of the 20 IIMs in the country which remained headless for several months. Notifications have been issued twice and that a Search-cum-Selection Committee has recommended a panel of names. But so far no interview has been conducted, official sources told The Hindu on Saturday.
As of now, Prof. Kulbhushan Balooni, has been holding charge of the post since September 2014 and he also the Mentor Director of IIM Amristar. At several other IIMs, the tenure of the outgoing director has been extended or the senior most Professor of the Institute has been given additional charge of the post.
In November 2016, Minister of State for Human Resource Development (HRD) Mahendra Nath Pandey had said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha that new Directors will be appointed shortly. Now it is learnt that a new Director for IIMK will be appointed in March or April.
A Search-cum-Selection Committee appointed for the purpose will conduct the interview and a list of three selected names would be sent to the Union Ministry of Human Resources Development. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will clear a name, a senior faculty member said.
The appointment of IIM directors via Search-cum-Selection Committee which had been introduced by the BJP- led government had triggered a controversy when several academics had questioned the motive. Many had said that a group discussion followed by interview for aspiring IIM directors was akin to prospective students joining an IIM.
The IIMK, established in 1996 with the State government is a central autonomous body registered under the Societies Registration Act, and is managed by a Board of Governors. Dr. A.C. Muthiah , Chairman, SPIC, Chennai and former president BCCI, is chairman of the Board of Governors, IIMK. It started its Postgraduate Programme (PGP), in 1997 and later Fellow Programme in Management, Executive PG Programmes, Management Development Programs and Faculty Development Programmes. IIMK has also set up a Satellite campus at Infopark, Kochi, in 2013 dedicated to Executive Education.
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