IIM Calcutta has decided to refund deposit fees and offer deferred admission next year to its executive MBA course after six candidates sought a refund saying they didn’t want to pursue the course in such “uncertain financial times”.
Institute director Anju Seth told The Telegraph in an emailed statement on Saturday night: “Under these unusual circumstances, after following due process IIM Calcutta decided that the deposit fee is refunded and deferred admission for one year is granted, to MBAEx students who were offered admission, but could not join this year.”
The candidates for the executive course for working professionals had paid Rs 2 lakh each as “commitment fees” to IIM Calcutta in April.
The one-year residential course costs Rs 27 lakh.
One of those who sought the refund had earlier written to the institute’s board of governors, accusing the institute of not responding to their request and asked the board “to understand the gravity of the current situation and intervene in the matter”.
He said he was unable to pursue the residential course leaving his job because of financial instability in his family and life risk in these extreme times. “Hence I requested the MBAex office for a refund of the initial deposit.”
He sought the board’s intervention in the matter as the matter of refund has been pending with the MBA-executive committee since April.
Apart from financial uncertainty, change in the nature and mode of delivery of the course that has gone online and limited hardware resources to cope with the change have been mentioned as reasons for pulling out of the course and seeking the refund.
A student is required to pay Rs 2 lakh as commitment fees to book a seat. The remaining amount has to be paid once the course starts.
The MBA executive course is meant for working professionals with more than five years’ professional experience. The course is considered to be a money-spinner because it generates maximum revenue, a teacher at the institute said.
The course fee is steep compared to the two-year residential MBA course that costs Rs 22 lakh.
“Now that the Centre has asked the IIMs to be financially self-reliant, the course has become crucial to the institute’s financial health,” the teacher said. “Besides, withdrawal at the eleventh hour does not leave the institute with any chance to fill the seats.”
Some companies bear the cost of the course on behalf of the professional, another teacher said. In some cases, candidates quit their jobs to pursue the course. “Under normal circumstances, candidates feel so assured about the course landing them with a plum job that they don’t hesitate to quit their existing jobs. But Covid-19 has changed everything,” an IIM Calcutta teacher said.
Two other students Metro spoke to said there was no “justification” in paying the remaining Rs 25 lakh as “this programme is not the one we had enrolled in”.
Classes started on April 20 and teachers have been holding classes from their homes using online platforms.
The “Covidian batch” has 68 students from 20 industries.
Last month, students of the two-year MBA course had sought a fee waiver, citing “a very grim economy”.
In a letter addressed to director Seth, the president of the institute’s student council, Hunar Gandhi, said: “While we are managing personal finances in these difficult times, we cannot afford to be paying the same fees for a different and a lesser experience than we signed up for.”
