well, the CoA election is round the corner too..
The Claim (I have heard this privately for a long time, from IIM-Side and
mutedly, from the CoA/IIA side), that CoA has succeeded where the IIMs and
the Corporate world didn't, having stopped HRD ministry in its tracks. To
draw SPA into the picture like this (we did wonder about the last few days
news stories), with a bagfull of dubious claims (who rated it the "highest"
in the country? we don't seem to have a mechanism to do so -- ideas, prem?
part of your proposed Regulation regime, no?)
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Courts step in to save architecture colleges from HRD bulldozer
Thursday, April 08, 2004
Courts step in to save architecture colleges from HRD bulldozer
MANOJ MITTA
NEW DELHI, APRIL 7 While IIMs suffer setbacks in their battle on autonomy,
architects have with the help of the judiciary repelled three different
attacks on their turf from HRD Minister Murli Manohar Joshi-attacks almost
identical to the one launched against the IIMs.
Just a day before the IIM case comes up in the Supreme Court today, three
architects secured a stay from the Delhi High Court thwarting Joshi's bid to
take over their alma mater, the Delhi-based School of Planning and
Architecture (SPA), the highest-rated architecture college in the country.
The Delhi High Court's intervention on a petition seeking to protect the SPA
's autonomy follows a succession of interim orders passed against the
Government in other architecture education-related cases by the Madras High
Court. All those orders came in recent months at the instance of an
independent architects body, Indian Institute of Architects (IIA).
On March 15, 2004, the Madras High Court stayed the HRD Ministry's directive
that the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), which is run
entirely by Government appointees, will hereafter regulate architecture
education, taking over that function from another statutory body, Council of
Architecture (CoA), which is run entirely by elected representatives of
architects.
. In the same case, the Madras High Court had on December 15, 2003 stayed
the public notice issued earlier the AICTE announcing its take over of
architecture education.
. As the AICTE continued to interfere with architecture education despite
the December 15 stay order, the Madras High Court admitted a contempt
petition on February 26, 2004 and summoned its chairman to appear in person.
. On November 20, 2003, the Madras High Court restrained the Central Board
for Secondary Education (CBSE) and the HRD Ministry from lowering the
eligibility criteria for admissions to architecture colleges from 50% to 35%
marks. Interestingly, the latest case, which concerns SPA in Delhi, bears
striking parallels to the issues thrown up by the IIM controversy.
. Joshi has sought to justify his sudden fee-cut decision by claiming that
the memorandum of association (MoA) of each of the IIMs empowers the Centre
to act unilaterally. He repeatedly advised the IIMs in public to abide by
the MoA.
But the MoA of SPA, evidently, did not hold such sanctity in his eyes. For,
as the petitioners in the Delhi High Court alleged, Joshi effected changes
in the MOA so as to increase the Government's control over the ''autonomous'
' institution. He reduced the strength of SPA's general council and
increased the proportion of the Government representatives.
. Despite his solemn assurances in the IIM case to make good the revenue
deficit caused by the fee cut, Joshi browbeat SPA by not releasing funds for
almost nine months last year till the college exhausted all its reserves and
surrendered to the Ministry's diktats on the MoA and other issues.
As regards the IIMs, Joshi has shown similar aversion to their corpus which
helped them reduce their dependence on Government grants.
. Joshi appointed former CAG V K Shunglu last year to probe ''financial
irregularities'' in SPA. He chose the same man to head the committee that
will study the financial requirements of the IIMs after the fee-cut. Joshi
has made allegations of financial irregularities against the IIMs as well.
URL:
http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=44657