The Indian Institute of Management, Rohtak, has been caught in a situation that is possibly a first of its kind for the B-school: people junior in position choosing someone higher in rank.

The other IIMs are in the process of reappointing for a fresh term their chairpersons who had been appointed on the recommendations of their erstwhile boards of governors.

But the chairperson’s post in this Haryana B-school is vacant. This means junior board members would have to appoint the chairperson who heads the board.

Till Tuesday, the chairpersons of the IIMs had headed their boards, the top decision-making bodies at each of these business schools. But the human resource development ministry issued a letter on Tuesday replacing the chairperson and other members with a three-member body, to be expanded later.

The three new members — appointed in accordance with the new IIM Act that came into force earlier this year — are the serving directors of the institutes who have been allowed to continue till the end of their tenures, a joint secretary from the ministry and a state government official.

As the chairperson’s position is higher than that of the director, the ministry asked the IIMs to reappoint their chairpersons who had served till Tuesday to avoid creating any unease.

On Wednesday, the ministry wrote to all the 20 IIMs saying their 15-member boards should be in place by December 15.

Sources in IIM Rohtak said a search panel might be set up to choose the chairperson. After the search panel submits its choices, the three-member board would appoint the chairperson.

‘No’ to two-year PhD

The HRD ministry has told some of the IIMs that the minimum duration of a PhD course cannot be less than three years in any Indian institution. The B-schools, which have so long been offering fellowship programmes that were considered equivalent to a doctorate, are empowered to offer PhD degrees under the new IIM Act.

Some of them now want to rename their fellowship courses as PhD courses and allow students to complete their doctorate in two years.

But the ministry has cited the University Grants Commission Act to say that the UGC has the power to notify the nomenclature, minimum duration and the entry qualification of each degree.

A UGC notification has specified that the duration of a PhD programme will be over three years.