6 former Amity Business School students have taken the institute to court following the withdrawal of AICTE approval to Amity's flagship course - the PGDM. This is the story of their quest for justice
- Rashmi Bansal
On Feb 26, 2005, Amit Bharadwaj received a letter from Sunita Singh (Director, Admissions), Amity Business School, Noida stating: We take immense...
pleasure in informing you that you have been selected for Post Graduate Diploma in Management (2005) (Approved by AICTE).
Accordingly, on 5th March Amit deposited fees of Rs 1,23, 150 (including academic fee for Sem 1 of Rs 102500, refundable academic security of Rs 20,000 & mediclaim insurance - Rs 650).
Three months into the session, there was a stunning development. On Sept 17, 2005 AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education) withdrew its approval to Amity Business School.
A press release signed by Prof R A Yadav, Vice-Chairman AICTE cited several reasons for derecognition. The Expert Committee observed that a "large number of unapproved courses were being conducted in the same premises, utilising the facilities and infrastructure intended for AICTE approved courses, thus diluting the standards of education".
Amit and his fellow students learnt of this derecognition through an article published in the Hindustan Times on 20th Sept 2005. The article noted that the decision "is likely to affect 300 students" but that "affected students would be accommodated elsewhere".
In the same article Ashok Chauhan, founder chairman of Amity assured students that "fees deposited would be returned if the matter was not sorted out with AICTE". K Madhav Murthy, adviser, AICTE also stated that "AICTE had asked the UP government to transfer students in neighbouring areas."
Former student Diptanshu Gupta recalls, "On Sep 20, 2005 Ashok Chauhan addressed 1st and 2nd year students and assured us that the matter would be solved in a week. He also...
promised a fee refund to students who wished to leave if AICTE approval was not reinstated".
No response - No refund
3 months later there is no resolution in sight. At least 10 PGDM students have chosen to leave but received no fee refund, despite formal requests to the management for the same. Ghaziabad resident Anshul Pant left the Amity PGDM course on Oct 13 2005. "I submitted an application to Amity stating my desire to with draw from the course and asking for fee refund. They took down my cell number and said I will be contacted once 'data is processed’ ". Anshul has not been contacted by Amity till date.
In a letter dated 10th Oct 2005 (Dr P Venkateswara Rao), Adviser (UG/PG) AICTE, had asked The Director, Amity Business School to submit the details of students pursuing PGDM (FT) and PGDM (PT) with their names, enrolment numbers, academic performance with grade sheets, academic records etc "so as to facilitate necessary action to shift the students to other AICTE approved institutions in the nearby locality offering PGDM programmes".
However, none of the students have been transferred to neighbouring AICTE approved institutes, till date. "We were left with no choice but to send a legal notice," say six former Amity students. Accordingly their lawyer Naveen Kumar sent a notice dated 21st Oct 2005 to Amity Business School. There was no response from Amity, says the students' counsel.
A case against Amity Business School was filed in the District...
Consumer Redressal Forum New Delhi, Mehrauli, New Delhi which hears matters between Rs 1-5 lakhs on 29th November, 2005. The complaint states: "That the applicant/ cancellation has no fault in the withdrawal of approval by AICTE to the respondent no 1"
"That the applicant/ complainant suffered the loss of a year of his career and valuable time, as well as mental and physical harassment by the respondents."In addition to refund of fees advocate Naveen Kumar is seeking compensation of Rs 100,000 for loss of a year, financial, educational, mental and physical harassment by the respondents (Amity Business School).
The six former Amity students listed as complainants are: Deepak Soni, Jitesh Marwaha, Amit Bharadwaj, Anshul Pant, Diptanshu Gupta, and Deepak Bansal. A summons was issued to Amity Business School, Ashok Chauhan and Sunita Singh (Director, Admissions, ABS). Amity has not yet responded but a date of January 6 2006 has been set for the next court hearing.
Former student Jitesh Marwaha adds, "A number of students in PGDM have not submitted their next installment of fees as they wish to know what is the current status and validity of the course after withdrawal of AICTE approval." And the wait continues.
Withdrawal Of Aicte Approval
AICTE Press Release
Expert Committees of AICTE have visited Amity Business School at Noida on several occasions during the last few years and show cause notices have been issued for violating norms and standards set by the Council.
Expert Committees visited Amity Business School, Noida...
recently on 27th July 2005 and 5th August 2005 have since found serious deficiencies and violation of Norms and Standards. Amity Business School was also found to conduct large number of unapproved courses in the same premises (some even in collaboration with foreign universities which require mandatory approval from the AICTE) utilising the facilities and infrastructure intended for AICTE approved courses, thus diluting the standards of education.
As it is, the Institute has violated building laws and also lacks requisite built-up area as per AICTE norms. It was also found that the admission process followed by the Institute was not transparent and is involved in commercialisation of education by charging exorbitant fee from students.
As Amity Business School contravened the conditions of approval, AICTE decided to withdraw approval for conduct of PGDM (FT) and PGDM (PT) courses from the academic year 2005-06. Consequent upon withdrawal of AICTE approval, the Council decided to transfer and distribute the students already admitted in Amity Business School, Noida among other approved institutions in the nearby locality.
- Signed , Vice Chairman AICTE (R A Yadav),
Sept 17 2005 New Delhi
Full text available here.
The Issues
Large scale expansion appears to have diluted the flagship PGDM course at Amity Business School. JAM visited the campus and spoke to a wide spectrum of students to understand the ground reality.
Amity Business School was set up in 1995, and earned a fair reputation over the past decade. It shared the Sector 44, Noida campus of Amity International School, although it had its own building. Entrance to Amity was through MAT (Managerial Aptitude Test) .
Amity's PGDM course was approved by AICTE and hence considered equivalent to an MBA degree. The intake of students was restricted to 150 per year.
Amity Business School was ranked no 13 by the Outlook-C Fore B school rankings 2005. However, Mr Premchand Palety, CEO, C Fore states, "The ranking was awarded only taking into consideration the PGDM (AICTE) course."
Earlier this year, there were some dramatic changes. In Feb 2005, the Supreme Court declared as unconstitutional a provision in the Chhattisgarh Private Sector Universities Act, 2002 permitting establishment of private universities for higher education. The court declared as null and void establishment of 112 such private universities under this law, including Amity University, Chhatisgarh
However, in the meanwhile, Amity University was established by the UP State legislature with effect from 12th January 2005. The notification for the same was published in Uttar Pradesh Government Gazette vide No. 403/VII-V-1-1 (Ka) 1/2005 dated 24 th March 2005 .
So, two things happened. All the students of Amity University Chattisgarh, who were pursuing their degree e.g MBA from the Raipur were transferred to Amity campus sector 44 Noida (the Amity Business School campus).
A host of new courses started being offered under the aegis of Amity University, Uttar Pradesh from the Sector 44 campus. Among them, a slew of MBAs. The complete list of management courses offered in the year 2005 is reproduced from their website.
a) MBA (International Business)
b) MBA (General)
c) MBA (Entrepreneurship & Leadership)
d) MBA (CRM & Marketing)
e) MBA (HR)
f) MBA (Competitive Intelligence & Competitive Warfare)
g) PG Diploma in Natural Resource Management
h) PG Diploma in NGO Management
i) MBA (Insurance)
j) MBA (Organic Agriculture & Food Business)
k) MBA (Telecommunication)
l) MBA (Biotechnology Management)
m) PG Diploma (Insurance Mgmt)
In addition, there are BBA and BBA + MBA combos
a) BBA - Bachelor of Business Administration
b) Integrated BBA + Master of Management Studies
c) Integrated MBA (International Business)
And some courses are offered in collaboration with foreign universities as well
a) 3 Continent MBA
b) MBA (International Management), University of East London
c) MBA (Purdue)
d) Integrated BBA + MBA (Purdue)
For reasons unknown, details of the ‘international programs’ are no longer displayed on the Amity website (that areas is 'password protected') but a chat with Amity's online counselor confirmed the courses are being offered for the next academic year.
The international programs offer students an option of transferring to the campus abroad for the final semester/s and obtaining the degree from a foreign university.
Too many students?
When students applied for the 2005-7 academic session, they say only 3 courses were listed in the brochure:
01. PGDM (AICTE): Intake mentioned was 150
02. MBA General (Amity University): No disclosure about number of students
03. MBA International Business (Amity University): No disclosure about number of students
Within weeks of arriving on campus PGDM students found that there were approximately 1000 students enrolled in MBA courses in the first year alone. They estimate that the total no of MBA and BBA students in the Amity Business School campus originally meant for 300 students is at least 2000.
We asked Amity Business School to provide details regarding exact number of students enrolled in all MBA courses but did not get any response. The published intake of in the year 2004 was PGDM (150 seats), MBA (380 seats), MBA International Business (240 seats), and BBA (240 seats). With a large no of new courses started in 2005, that number would have gone up significantly.
Further, the Amity school of NGO management, Amity School of Actuarial science, Amity School of Insurance, Amity Institute of Education, Amity Centre for CRM, Amity School of Communication and Amity school of Tourism Management were also using Amity Business School's library and computer lab.
Ground realities
When JAM visited the Amity Sector 44 campus in December 2005, our reporter found different courses being conducted in the same building. For instance, a wing on one floor that was meant for BBA classes (as indicated by a large signboard) had many different types of MBA classes going on (MBA-HR, MBA-CRM and so on). Class 3 school children from the Amity International School were being taught in classrooms that still had MBA (Gen) printed on the door.
The Amity Business School classes which are supposed to be held in the D and H blocks, were instead being held in J-block belonging to Amity International School. Clearly, AICTE was accurate in observing facilities and infrastructure intended for AICTE approved course were being utilized for other unapproved courses.
Students also allege that classes for the senior batch (2006) PGDM students and MBA students (Amity University) were often held together, by the same faculty in the same classroom.
Former students say that considering the high fees they were paying (Rs 4.9 lakhs for the 2 years including hostel fees but not food), facilities were inadequate. Their complaints include:
- Inadequate computer lab
- Lack of place like reading room to do projects
- Books often being unavailable in the library
- Classes constantly being shifted from one building to the next
Our reporter visited the sole library on campus on the first floor of the D-block. It certainly didn’t look big enough to cater to the needs of the 2,000-plus students now taking classes in the Noida campus. The computer laboratory was next to the library and had around 40 machines. By 12 noon, most of the machines were occupied and it was easy to imagine the chaos there would be when the campus was full.
MBA students have been provided with laptops and there is wi-fi connectivity on the campus. But students say they still need to use the computer lab for specific software like SPSS and printouts.
There is a separate lab with 30 machines and a small reading room for BBA students.
More issues
Another major grouse is the fact that the hostel facility to 1st year male MBA students is provided in Sector 125 campus 3 kms away ( this was not specified at time of admission).
Says Diptanshu Gupta,"There is a bus facility provided but its timings weren’t suitable. We often had to walk 3 kms to the hostel passing by the Greater Noida Expressway which is not safe even for the boys, late at night."
Besides physical facilities, quality of faculty and faculty: student ratio seems to be another area of concern. A former faculty member at Amity recalls, "When I was in campus, only International Business (IB) course was offered in addition to PGDM but even then the intake was very high. Plus BBA & IB admissions would go on even in the middle of the semester, in a few cases."
"Regarding the faculty, apart from a few (who are old timers) very few would stick beyond a semester or two. They would ask us to substitute for someone at the notice of an hour even for a MBA class, They had no fixed date for mid semester examinations, every teacher was free to conduct it according to their fancy."
Amity claims to have "one of the largest faculty". 19 full time faulty members are listed on the Amity website, shared between Amity Business School and Amity Business School, Amity University. Amity School of International Business lists 15 faculty members.
The Placement issue
Last but not the least, the placement cell and corporate resource center for all these programs are same. Says former PGDM student Henna Jindal, "The pressure to place such a large number of students is sure to dilute the kind of jobs and salary packages on offer."
A request for details of the campus placements so far has not yielded a response from Amity. The full picture, in any case, will only be available at the end of the current placement season.
As per information available to JAM, 90 students have been placed so far of the 650 students vying for placement. Why only 650, although there are far more students enrolled in MBA? Because a large number of students are debarred every year from the placement process.
Several sources told JAM: "If a student does not score 6.5 CGPA he/ she is not eligible for placements. The student will be asked to sign a paper saying: 'I do not want to sit in the placement willfully and want to opt for entrepreneurship'. That is how they are able to claim 100% placements".
Bottomline
As far as Deepak Soni – one of the students suing Amity is concerned - the main reason for his leaving the PGDM course remains withdrawal of AICTE approval. "I wanted to join a recognized MBA course," says the Chhatisgarh resident who is now preparing for his UPSC exams."I left other options such as ICFAI only because their institute is not AICTE approved while Amity’s course had the approval."
The questions raised by former Amity students suing their former B school:
a) Why is Amity not fulfilling its promise re: refund of fees and transfer of students who wish to do so when it was expressly promised in September?
b) The larger question is: Are there better ways to go about the ambitious expansion of an educational institute?
c) Is there a plan of action to improve the current situation?
- Rashmi Bansal, with inputs from Jai Arjun Singh
In defence of Amity
Current PGDM student Shreejit Nair is supporting his institute. This is what he had to say on the pagalguy.com MBA forum, "I am paying Rs. 2,45,000 per year (including HP-Compaq Nx 6120 laptop & hostel fees).I know of institutes which charge more and are AICTE approved."
Regarding sharing of infrastructure with other courses which are non AICTE approved. "Yes, this does happen, but in the next few months a brand new campus is going to be ready. All the courses except PGDM will shift to that campus. Our hostel is in that campus so I can clearly see at what pace the construction is going on..."
That may well be the plan. An advertisement released in India Today dt Jan 2 2006 depicts a picture of the 60 acre campus along with details of all MBA courses offered by Amity University. However when JAM asked Amity to confirm whether all the courses listed would be functioning from the Sector 125 campus from the academic year 2006-8, we received no response.
An emailed and faxed questionnaire sent to Mr Ashok Chauhan, Founder-president Amity Business School and Amity University by JAM on 26th Dec 2005 did not elicit an official response. In a telephonic conversation with JAM on 29th Dec 2005, Mr Atul Chauhan, stated that:
a) As the matter regarding AICTE is sub judice, he would not like to comment
b) That he was unaware of the details of six students filing a case against Amity Business School in the consumer court
c) That as the vacation period was on he would not be able to provide details asked by JAM in its faxed questionnaire until the 1st week of January.
There has been no further response from Amity at the time of publication (4th Jan 2006).
JAM will keep you posted on further developments.
Status Of PGDM Course
Prospectus for the PGDM course has not been released by Amity this year, till date. However the course is still listed on the Amity website as being AICTE approved
Students who had enrolled for PGDM (the only management course offered by ‘Amity Business School’) have been assured that if the AICTE approval is not restored sorted they will be shifted to MBA (Gen) and awarded a degree by Amity University.
From this year Amity is conducting AMCAT (Amity Common Admission Test) for entry to a number of its specialized PG courses, including MBA courses offered by Amity University. It will also accept MAT and CAT scores
Jaipur and Bhubaneshwar campus
Amity is offering several courses including MBA at its Jaipur and Bhubaneshwar campuses. However Amity does not have university status in the state of Rajasthan or Orissa. Students have been told they will be shifted to the Noida campus in the last semester and be awarded a degree by Amity University, Uttar Pradesh. Placements will also be the responsibility of the Noida campus
This is expected to put further pressure on the facilities at the sector 44 campus.
Foreign degrees
Some of the MBA courses offered at Amity are in collaboration with foreign universities. AICTE has stated that no university in India can offer a course or a degree from a foreign university without its approval. All the Amity courses with foreign collaboration are currently unapproved by AICTE and therefore termed "illegal" by AICTE
Status of court case
On 6th Jan 2006, the case filed by 6 former students of Amity Business School seeking fee refund and damages came up for hearing at the District Consumer Redressal Forum, Mehrauli, New Delhi. The court has advised Amity to settle the case by refunding the fees with interest at the time of next hearing scheduled for February 15th 2006. The judge directed the representative from Amity's side to come with the requisite authority to settle the dispute on that date.
Amity update
In September 2005 AICTE had withdrawn its accreditation to Amity Business School. Amity subsequently filed a petition in the Allahabad High Court contesting the AICTE order.
On June 1 2007, the High Court passed the following judgement:
"We are, therefore, of the considered opinion that the two orders passed by AICTE, namely, dated 17.9.2005 and 28.7.2006 should be set aside and AICTE be directed to decide the matter afresh in accordance with the law."
In plain English, the court has asked AICTE to relook at the matter of accreditation. However, as of today, accreditation has not been restored. There is no mention of AICTE's stand on the issue on their website, and neither has AICTE responded to our queries.
What does this mean for students? Well, it seems likely that Amity Business School would get accredited once again, if it meets the parameters set by AICTE.
Whether or not deemed universities need an AICTE approval is also being hotly debated. Several conflicting court orders have been issued in the recent past on this subject.
If you are wondering whether to join Amity Business School, I would advise you visit the campus, speak to students about the facilities and placements and decide for yourself.
We certainly hope as much money is being poured into making this an institute of excellence, as is being pumped into advertising.
Note: This information re: the High Court judgement was provided by Mr Atul Chauhan, CEO AKC group of companies which runs Amity educational institutes.
The case filed by 6 former students against Amity remains sub judice.
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