New Delhi: Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi has rejected criticism of the Government's decision to drastically slash the fees of students in prestigious Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and said there were no plans to "encroach" upon their autonomy.

"The decision to reduce the fees has nothing to do retrogression or something like that. A couple of years ago the fees was Rs 20,000 or even less than that. How can we call it retrograde? If we raise the fees to Rs five lakh, can we call it major progress?" he told Karan Thapar during the 'Court Martial' programme on SAB TV.

Referring to people who felt that there was an agenda behind the decision and that the Government was trying to encroach upon the IIMs' autonomy, Joshi said, "There is no question of encroaching upon the autonomy. Government never interferes with the autonomy, appointment or in the syllabus."

Joshi said his Ministry has been discussing the issue of cost of education in these institutes and the U R Rao Committee appointed to go into the technical education had given a comprehensive report on the relationship between the per capita income and education expenses in these institutions.

The Committee had suggested the expenditure should not be more than one-third of the per capital income in technical education and not more than Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000, he said, adding it was very clear that the business administrative schools did not need so much fees.

"Retrogression or progression of an institution is related to what work they are producing and what is their end product," Joshi said.

Noting that while lakhs of students appeared for Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) examination, but only a few hundreds got admitted, he said there was no reason why the country should not produce technical students in the globalised world.

To a question that the Ministry should pay more attention in the field of primary and secondary education leaving the higher education, Joshi said the Government cannot walk out of the higher education, as it has a responsibility right from the elementary up to the level of higher education. There was a need for community participation, he said.