Girish Subramanian is an alumnus of IIM-Ahmedabad and is based in Bangalore. He explains why IIMs are not elitist organisations.

IIMs have been called elitist institutions. But it depends on how you define it. If elitism is to mean that only rich kids go there and the poor don't have access to it, then it is definitely not good.

That's not, anyway, the case at IIM.

But if elitism means that only people with a certain level of abilities and those who have cleared one of the toughest and the most selective entrance tests can come to the institution, then being elitist is a good thing.

• IIMs: Triumphs and Tribulations
• 'Stop the onslaught on IIMs, IITs'
• 'Fee reduction has paralysed IIMs'
• 'Fee cut will harm IIM prestige'

The way Mr Joshi has projected IIM is that poor students cannot get into the institution. That is not true. There is so much of credit available for students who come to the campus.

A number of banks give loans to the students. Even if a student takes a full loan to the extent of Rs 300,000, he can easily pay it back within a year. Such is the salary you get when you graduate from the institution.

Today you find that parents of school children in the best schools in the country pay more than Rs 30,000 a year and MBA is a higher degree.

Before the government goes about cutting fees it needs to look at how what the cut will achieve. It needs to define the objective of this whole exercise.

Certainly it will be good if the fees is minimised without compromising the quality of the institution. But can that happen? Will the quality of students, the quality of professors and the quality of infrastructure continue to be maintained?

Reduction of fees cannot be done in vacuum. It will impact other areas too.

Yes, to an extent Mr Josh is right. It is the taxpayers' money that is funding the institution and there has to be greater accountability that the IIMs need to show.

The HRD ministry which funds the IIMs has every right to ask if it is getting the right return on its investment. But for that accountability and returns to be measured, a set of transparent metrics has to be put in place.

Cutting fees or ensuring greater government control is not the answer.

What makes the IIMs special is the quality of its students, the professors and the facilities that the institute offers.

The quality of the students stems from the extremely rigorous entrance procedure that they have to go through. But the HRD ministry wants to change the current CAT (Common Aptitude Test) system, which has proved itself through the quality of the students it finally gives to the IIMs.

The quality of the professors is what sustains the institute. But the HRD ministry wants to clamp down on them under the name of seeking greater accountability.

The IIMs offers unparalleled quality of facilities and infrastructure on the campus. Cutting the fees might impact it.

If the HRD ministry tinkers with all that makes the IIMs special, can the institute maintain its present glory?

- As told to Priya Ganapati