IIPM - Best only in claims?

Careers360 began investigating claims by IIPM in April 2009. Here is the full chronology of developments, since then:

Uttarakhand High Court quashes IIPM’s case against Careers360

Updated on August 22, 2011

MORE than a year back, news reports appeared about a defamation case against Careers360, its publisher and editor. An article in The Pioneer, a newspaper edited by Chandan Mitra (also a Member of Parliament) dated May 9, 2010, wrote “Education circles are watching with keen interest developments in the ongoing legal dispute between management education giant IIPM and Careers 360”.

It further went on to say: “After taking cognizance of its complaint, the court had held that the contents of the article were prima facie defamatory and issued summons to the accused. Upon their non-appearance, the court issued bailable warrants against Maheshwar Peri, Publisher and Mahesh B Sarma, Editor of Careers 360 magazine.” To date, this article is cited on many search engines including Wikipedia. We were hoping that The Pioneer would report the developments, as it was “keenly watching it'.

We wish to point out that all proceedings in the criminal complaint filed by IIPM against Careers360 were quashed by the Hon'ble Uttarakhand High Court by its judgment dated October 8, 2010, with the following observations on pages 15 to 17 of the certified copy of the order which is reproduced verbatim

“The entire edifice of our justice system rests on the principle of truth! The exercise in a Court is nothing if it is not a pursuit of truth and justice. The common expression in a Courtroom is “Satyamev Jayate” ¬Truth shall triumph. Truth is also the best defence in a case of defamation. A truth spoken for public good can never be called defamatory.

When the author of the disputed article stated in the article itself, in no ambiguous terms, that what he has stated is true and has been verified from Buckingham University and the Berkeley University that they have no arrangements with IIPM, then the first question the learned Magistrate should have asked the complainant was - “Do you have the authority to grant this degree from Buckingham University? If yes, show the proof?”

This was not done. In fact, even this Court not once but repeatedly asked this question to the counsel for the respondent(name of the counsel ommitted), as to his authority to grant such degree and if they have they must show it to the Court, the petition would then, be liable to be dismissed. But no such evidence was shown, even to this Court! The learned counsel kept on repeating that the complainant has “arrangements” with Buckingham University and that they send their students to Buckingham and that they outsource lecturers from Buckingham, etc., etc., but no proof of their claim that they grant degree from Buckingham University!

Yet IIPM in its bold advertisements published in Education Times dated June 22, 2009 in Times of India and annexed as Annexure-J to the writ petition and which has not been denied by the respondent/claimant, states as follows :-

“INDIA’S GLOBAL B-SCHOOL IIPM
NOW STUDENTS DOING IIPM’S UNIQUE
PLANNING & ENTREPRENEURSHIP
PROGRAMME ALSO BECOME ELIGIBLE FOR
AN MBA & BBA
DEGREE
FROM Buckingham Business School, The University of
Buckingham, UK
UK’s NO.1 UNIVERSITY
for the years 2006, 2007 & 2008 in National Student Survey and
RATED AS UK’S NO. 1 B-SCHOOL

This Court has already held that sole reliance on exceptions would mean the matter has to be determined in a trial alone, as these are factual aspects only to be determined in a trial. All the same, the learned Magistrate should have made at least the minimum enquiry as to the foundation of the allegations and must have asked the complainant as to whether they are authorized under the law to grant a degree as it claims. This was not done by the learned Magistrate. The emphasis on ‘truth’ by this Court is not a reference on the exception to Section 499, but generally as a matter of caution, must be examined by the Court before issuing summons.

On these facts, this Court is of the opinion that the criminal proceedings, which are presently pending against the petitioners are nothing but an abuse of process and in order to meet the ends of justice, summoning order dated 12.10.2009 are liable to be set aside and are therefore set aside. The proceedings in Criminal Complaint Case No. 5020 of 2009 which is pending before the A.C.J.M, 3rd Dehradun are also set aside


IIPM: Uttarakhand Registrar recommends a ban

March 11, 2010

With UGC moving in slow motion, it is left to the state education departments to fend for themselves. While the case by IIPM against UGC for declaring it as a fake university has been in the courts for almost 2 years, states like Uttarakhand have started moving in to protect the interests of the students of their state.

Since March 2009, there has been an agitation going on against IIPM opening a campus in Dehradun. Spearheaded, by the local student activist and practising advocate Pankaj Chethri, the students have been opposing the opening of IIPM with neither recognition nor approval. On a complaint, the Govt. ordered the Uttarakhand Technical University to conduct an enquiry on the activities of IIPM. The Registrar has recently filed his report to the administration, a copy of which is available with Careers360. When Careers360 met the Registrar, Chandra Singh Metha, who authored the report, he forcefully argued that the state, must act on the report.

Para 3 of the letter translated in English:

On April 1, 2009, Shri Nitin Ralhan, Dean IIPM, Dehradun had written a letter requesting for time to submit all documents relating to the institution. However, instead of submitting these documents, on the April 6, 2009, the institution(IIPM) released an advertisement in Amar Ujala and Dainik Jagran inviting applications for admissions into the institution(IIPM). In this advertisement, the institute claimed, without any basis those students who do a course at the Institute would be eligible to get a MBA/ BBA degree from IMI, Belgium. The university vide its letter 678/ UTU/ investigation/ 2009 dated April 6, 2009 (annexure 8) has directed the institute (IIPM) that till the government takes a decision on the above matter, the Institute (IIPM) should not initiate any process for admissions or do counseling etc. On the same day, vide letter 678A/UTU/Investigation/2009 (annexure 9) addressed to the additional secretary, Technical Education Division, Government of Uttarakhand, has informed that despite repeated reminders on the above matter, the Institute hasn’t submitted the required documents to the University and the Government should, keeping the situation in mind, take a decision in the matter.

Para 7 of the letter translated into English:

In the current matter, IIPM is neither AICTE approved to award MBA/ BBA nor has it taken a No Objection certificate from the state government, which IIPM has itself admitted. Currently, IIPM is operating in Uttarakhand without any government approval or University affiliation and awarding MBA degrees that are not valid or recognised. Unlike other educational institutions operating in Uttarakhand, IIPM is unregulated by the University or the state government, because of which students admitted into IIPM would be harmed, for which the state of Uttarakhand may have to take complete responsibility. Consequently, the state may also have to face demonstrations and anger of students.

IIPM cannot in any circumstances award valid MBA/BBA degrees or conduct such courses in the state of Uttarakhand. To allow institutions like IIPM to operate from the state of Uttarakhand would be unfair to all those educational institutions that have been established with due affiliation/recognition of AICTE or a University or the state government.

These higher educational institutions, meeting all government standards, may also protest such unfair treatment by the government. In the past also, the university vide its letter dated 678A/UTU/investigation/2009 dated April 6, 2009 addressed to technical education division of Uttarakhand Government, brought to its notice that the institution (IIPM) is not providing any document related to affiliation, recognition or approvals. Hence, it is requested that the administration take all these factors into consideration and immediately start required legal action against the institution (IIPM) so that such institutions can be curbed from operating out of Uttarakhand.

Also read:

A report which appeared in The Tribune Newspaper

IIPM's offering of MBA/ BBA degrees is illegal and students using the titles can be prosecuted

Feb 05, 2010

IN June 2009, we did an investigative story IIPM - best only in claims?, which discussed among other things, the validity of degrees offered by IMI (a Belgian institute IIPM tied up with, to award MBA/BBA degrees to IIPM students). Students must know that IIPM cannot award recognised BBA./MBA degrees since it is not approved by AICTE/ UGC.

The tie-up with IMI, Belgium was to overcome this handicap. Subsequent to the publication of our story, on June 18, 2009, IIPM brought out advertisements mentioning degrees to be offered by University of Buckingham, UK and not from IMI, Belgium. We cross-checked with the University of Buckingham and published another article in July 2009 issue, which debunked this claim, too.

Post the publication of our second article, IIPM removed the name of University of Buckingham from the ad. However, we noticed that the name IMI had cropped up again. Hence, we decided to take up the matter with the Rudy Derdelinckx, Director of NVAO, (the UGC/ AICTE equivalent authority for regulation of Higher Education in Belgium) to check the validity of degrees issued by IMI, Belgium. We were sincerely hoping that the accreditation/approval status of IMI has changed for the benefit of students in India and hence its re-appearence in IIPM's ads. We give below the official communication from Director, NVAO below.

The essence of the letter is as follows:

1. The MBA/BBA degree given by IMI, Belgium is not recognised and hence not legitimate even in its country of origin, Belgium.
2. Students in Belgium using the title ‘Master’ or ‘Bachelor’ can even be prosecuted, if it is based on a degree given by IMI.
3. Using those titles (given by IMI, Belgium) without holding a legitimate degree is illegal in Belgium.

As this is very important information that we received from NVAO, we decided to add this advisory for information to all prospective students of IIPM. Students can also make their own verification in the country where they wish to study/work as the rules regarding validity/prosecution/illegality may vary from country to country, though the rules are largely based on their validity from the country where the qualification originates from.

Note: Readers may look for the response from IIPM, which would be published as soon as it is received.

IIPM - Best only in claims?

April 03, 2009

This started off as a normal investigation, into the malaise affecting the education system and the checks and balances that need to be brought in. After all, we all know that the government cannot be a sole participant in making the youth employable and the country a prosperous one.

Everyone that we spoke to was of the unanimous opinion - while a systemic overhaul is essential to improve the quality of many bad institutions in the country, the least we could do is to protect students and parents from being misguided and misled by willful wrong-doers. There are institutes where students walk in with their eyes open and know what to expect. And there are those where they walk in, blinded - misled, misguided and misinformed, by a campaign where media, regulatory agencies and academia become willing accomplices. While we can't do much about the informed decisions, we have to take up the cause of those who were cheated, an act that robs students of their career and in a way, their life.

As we scanned the ads, spoke to experts, affected parties and counselors, we realised that one name cropped up the most - IIPM. We decided to investigate. We sent mails to all those, that IIPM draws upon to validate its claims in its advertisements, namely - journalists, editors, foreign universities, employers. We spoke to current and former students and their parents. What our investigation unravelled left us cold. Here is an institution that enjoys all the privileges of an academic institution (according to IT authorities, it claimed exemptions citing Section 10(23C) (VI) of the Income Tax act, 1961) with zero responsibility and accountability. Here is an institution that brazenly uses its power and reach to make unsubstantiated claims that play with the lives of students and parents alike. We know we are opening a Pandora's Box, but are prepared for the repercussions, knowing fully well that you, our readers are with us. We were shocked by our findings, and what you are reading is just a part of it. We await your verdict.

BBA/MBA degrees

IIPM CLAIMS to award PG/UG degrees from IMI Belgium. We checked with NVAO, the accreditation organization of Netherlands and Flanders(Belgium) about IMI Belgium. The response from them is given below. This implies that the degree that students earn would be useless for higher education or employment anywhere in the world, where formal degrees are required.

Campus placement
BASED ON some of the claims about MNC employers participating in the campus recruitments at IIPM, we checked with a few of them. We are listing a few responses, of employers, who have denied having recruited from the IIPM campus from the class of 2008, though IIPM claims otherwise. There have been a few more, who did not respond and we did not pursue, as we already got a sample of what is in store. Some gave us information but refused to come on record.

STANDARD CHARTERED BANK, says

We have hired 9 students from IIPM this year, though this was not through the campus recruitment process. These are all freshers.

BARCLAYS, DUBAI

I have looked into the below and we at Barclays, UAE Dubai have not done any campus placement with this institute.

DEUTSCHE BANK ( sms response)

Deutsche bank has no association with IIPM in terms of campus placements. We may have one or two employees from IIPM at the junior level but that's about it

Un(en)viable International Placements
ANY B-SCHOOL that claims to have the interest of students at heart should ensure that only companies that would treat students with respect, dignity and care would be allowed in the placement process. We are listing out some of the placements facilitated by IIPM. Look at the offer details and make your own judgement.

International collaborations
IIPM claims to award a global certification in management for all its students from one of the leading universities of the world. Every advertisement carries the logo of institutions like Darden, Haas, Judge etc as partnering institutions. Some ads even say the certification is from one of these universities. We wrote to each of the institution to check the veracity of IIPM's Claims. Here is what they have to say.

When we ended our investigative piece on IIPM last month, we were hoping for a response from IIPM disputing our story. We were prepared, armed with all information(some of which we published) if we were hauled up. The lack of response proves that IIPM has nothing to contest. However, there was a response, through double page ads in the media.

One of the many false claims by IIPM, that we exposed in the last issue of Careers360 (www.careers360.com), was about the BBA/MBA degrees on offer. The degrees awarded by IIPM in collaboration with IMI Belgium were in fact unrecognized. Even after the exposé, IIPM continued to use IMI, Belgium. As recently as 15th June, an ad released in the Times of India mentioned the IMI degrees on offer.

On 18 June, post our exposé, we saw an ad in the Times of India and Hindustan Times, where the BBA/MBA degree was now being offered from Buckingham Business School (University of Buckingham) and no longer from IMI Belgium. Aware of the past history of the claims made by IIPM, we sent a mail to the University of Buckingham to verify this new claim. The response from the University of Buckingham left us despairing (see the mail above). The University of Buckingham's response implies that:

1. The University of Buckingham hasn't consented to the advertisements (and the claims made in it).

2. That no such consent would be forthcoming until their programmes (IIPM's programmes) are formally accredited under the QAA guidelines.

3. That no such arrangement exists as of this date.

The QAA in the UK is similar to the National Board of Accreditation (NBA) in India. IIPM's programmes are not accredited by the NBA. We wonder, how IIPM would submit its programmes to QAA when they have refused to do the same with NBA.

So as we file this story, the students are not guaranteed of a University of Buckingham degree. We called up the Vice- Chancellor's office of the University of Buckingham on 23rd June and wrote to him on the 24th of June(After the response from their PR department's denial of the relationship as on date on the 21st of June) but haven't recieved any response from his office.

However, we are at a loss to deal with the brazenness of these claims each bigger than the other. Is there a way to discourage such institutes from making these false claims in the name of great education? Would Mr.Kapil Sibal, the current HRD minister and one of the best lawyers of India, take an active interest in bringing in some transparency to prevent any institutes' taking students for a ride? Can the regulators, government and judiciary impose certain accountability for such claims on all institutes? Or would this be another investigation that bites the dust for want of follow up and regulatory action? We have done our job. It is over to you Mr.Sibal.

Dear readers, we greatly value your suggestions, so visit us at (www.careers360.com) and give us your comments.

NOTE: Readers may look for the counter view of IIPM, if received. We would also carry any response received from the Vice-Chancellors' office of the University of Buckingham.