The Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A), in an affidavit filed before the Supreme Court on Tuesday, has said that the unilateral decision of the Union ministry of human resources development regarding fees to be charged by IIMs does not seem to be a step in the right direction.

The affidavit, filed after the apex court served notices to the six IIMs on April 8, asking them to clarify their stand on the fee-cut issue, puts on record the IIM-A’s willingness to sort out the issue through a process of dialogue.

“We have not gone to the court proactively. The affidavit places our views on record in answer to the notice and not filing it would have limited our options. We are, however, not a party to the PIL,” said a source in the IIM-A.

The affidavit has three components - the Position Paper prepared by the faculty, the resolutions passed by the IIM-A Society and the Board of Governors recently, and the fact that the institute is in a process of dialogue with the ministry.

Dons feel that the affidavit clarifying the institute’s willingness for a dialogue will create an atmosphere that will help the process initiated by chairman NR Narayanamurthy during the board meeting here on April 3.

The affidavit said the fee-reduction order has to be seen not in isolation, but in the larger context of many other decisions by the ministry that threatened the autonomy of the institute.

It has also said that the notification on fee reduction “violates the time-honoured process of the fee being decided by the Board of Governors and that it is not necessary to reduce fees to make management education more affordable to the less well-to-do sections of the society.”

Meanwhile, the Indian Institute of Management-Calcutta faculty council filed an application before the Supreme Court, praying for an order impleading it as a respondent in the fee-cut case already pending before the apex court.

Over eight years after the University of Jamia Millia Islamia saw a violent and abrupt end to student activism, the campus is set once again to go to the polls. With elections to the Jamia Students’ Union all set for December 15, the students here will once again get a voice of their own.

With only students enrolled in the regular courses of Jamia Millia eligible to vote in the coming elections, over a thousand students belonging to the evening or part-time courses are likely to miss the chance to exercise their franchise. But the issue is hardly likely to be raised during the elections, with students noting that they would rather get a union in place first than take on the Administration.

As per the schedule announced, the last date for objections to the voters’ list is December 2, with the final list being put up on December 5.

While the last date for filing of nominations is December 6, the valid nominations will be displayed on December 7.

Following the withdrawal of candidates, the final list of candidates will be displayed on December 8. With the JSU Code of Conduct clearly stating that the contesting students can’t seek help or involve directly or indirectly members of political parties or religious organisations, the Jamia elections will be unlike other student elections seen on the Capital’s campuses.

While Delhi University and JNU both ride high on political power and ideology, Jamia students will be hoping to finally exercise a right that has long been denied to them.