New Delhi: The suspense over whether the Indian Institutes of Management will be allowed to start admissions may end soon.
The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs will meet in Delhi on Wednesday evening to decide whether 27 percent quota for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) should be implemented next year and the IIMs allowed to start admissions without the new quota.
Human Resources Development Minister Arjun Singh on Wednesday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to decide if the list of candidates selected for IIMs this year can be released.
Before the meeting, Singh said that there was a "qualitative change" in the situation following Supreme Court advancing the hearing on the quota issue by three months.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday decided to hear on May 8 the Government’s plea to remove the 27percent quota for OBCs in government-funded educational institutions.
Describing the court direction as a "welcome step", Singh said: "it indicated that the court has understood the implications of this issue which has wide ramifications. “I hope the early hearing can lead to a solution to the issue."
Singh said all political parties had decided IIM admissions should be put on hold till quota issue was resolved and it was not his “arbitrary” decision.
Singh met top officials of his officials on Tuesday after the Supreme Court’s decision. "Some signs of hope are there," he had said adding "we will try to resolve it to some extent."
The IIMs have decided to keep on hold admissions to their post graduate programme till the Supreme Court decides on the quota for OBCs in elite educational institutions.
The elite business schools said they would offer admissions to successful candidates for the 2007 programme only after the impasse over quotas for OBCs is sorted out.
Sources in the six IIMs say postponing the admission till May 8 could seriously upset their academic calendar.
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