No letter from IIT Madras over IoE: Javadekar

Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar on Thursday denied receiving any letter from the Chairman of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Madras, who was reported to have expressed his dissatisfaction over the institute not being accorded the tag of 'Institution of Eminence' (IoE).

"There's no letter. I don't know where this came from. And they (IIT-Madras) have already clarified that they have issued no letter," Javadekar told reporters here.

Several media reports on Wednesday claimed that IIT-Madras Chairman Pawan Goenka, also the Managing Director of Mahindra and Mahindra Group, had written a letter to the MHRD expressing his displeasure over not being given the IoE status despite having matching credentials in comparison with those who got it.

In July, the government had announced the IoE tag for six institutions -- three each for the private and public sectors.

The IoE tag has been granted to IIT-Delhi, IIT-Bombay and Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru from the public sector, and BITS Pilani, Manipal Academy of Higher Education and Jio University of the Reliance Foundation (yet to be operational) from the private sector.

The three IoEs from public sector will get Rs 1,000 crore from the government in the next five years.

The tag gives greater autonomy to the institutes in terms of recruiting foreign faculty and admitting foreign students.

--IANS

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