MBA Education needs autonomy to survive, exhort experts from SP Jain, KJ Somaiya, FLAME, COME @ EPSI forum

Speaking at the EPSI National Conference on Higher Education, held in Mumbai on January 23, leading Directors from prestigious institutions were unanimous in their demands for autonomy and operational freedom from the unreasonable policies of regulator. Indian management education is going through a period of unprecedented challenges. After two decades of unbridled growth, the MBA and PGDM market has seen a significant drop in interests amongst MBA aspirants, pushing several tier-2 and tier-3 B-schools to have a rethink about their future.

Experts believe that while the times are tough, if quality private B-schools are given autonomy to operate their programs, based on market demands, they can not just survive but thrive -- even in these difficult times. That's message from experts from leading B-schools like SP Jain, KJ Somaiya, FLAME, and industry bodies like EPSI & COME.

Speaking at the EPSI National Conference on Higher Education, held in Mumbai on January 23, leading Directors from prestigious institutions were unanimous in their demands for autonomy and operational freedom from the unreasonable policies of regulator that is holding back the growth of the entire MBA & PGDM education in India.

Addressing the forum, Dr. Indira Parikh, President FLAME and former Dean of IIM Ahmedabad, said, "Indian Management education has come a long way when IIM A and IIM C were set up in early 1960s. It has given a lot to the country by producing business leaders, and change-agents. However, last few years have been very stressful. Government policies are not consistent, and they are shackling the growth of quality management education. It's time that the regulators respected the autonomy of education sectors. My message to the regulator is simple - leave us alone!"

Echoing the sentiments, Dr. Suresh Ghai, Director General, K J Somaiya Group of Institutes said, "With all the chaos and confusion, management education is going through a period of crisis. We are seeing a dip in interest amongst youth. Only way to restore the old glory is by promoting and supporting quality B-schools. Regulator must not interfere in what we teach, and to whom."

Prof. Abbasali S Gabula, Deputy Director, SP Jain Institute of Management & Research said, "SP Jain has always challenged the status quo, and in the process emerged as a stronger institution. We opted out of the Mumbai University system a long way back just because we believed that we need operational freedom. Today regulator must distinguish between an ethical and serious player, and a fly-by-night operator. And not paint both with the same brush."

Dr. H Chaturvedi, Alternate President, EPSI and Director, BIMTECH said, "Our regulator has to offer space to B-schools to grow. As long as we are within legal and ethical boundaries, what makes AICTE competent to deicide the everyday business of running a B-School? How can AICTE decide what curriculum we teach, how we admit students, what fees we charge and so on." Dr Chaturvedi added, "India got political democracy in 1947, economic liberalization in 1991, but our education sector is still stuck in license and permit raj."

Dr. Apoorva Palkar, Executive President, COME said, "At a broader level, amongst the youth of India, the aspirations for doing a management programs is doing down. We need to ignite the minds and hearts of our young population on what a good management program can do. Unless we increase the appeal and catchment of our PGDM and MBA programs, and engage with all sections of society, the demand for MBA will keep shrinking. It's time for all stakeholders of management education to come together, and our regulator should play a positive role."

Similar views were also aired by many other senior educationists who addressed the EPSI forum.

Dr. AK Sen Gupta, Founder, Higher Education Forum called for much greater stress on quality of faculty. "Harvard & Stanford are great Universities not because of their infrastructure, but because of their fantastic faculty pool. In India, we are creating 7 star facilities but are under paying our most important resource - faculty members."  

The EPSI forum ended with a resolve to hold such national meetings in more cities like Kolkata and Delhi to inform public and media on the need of improving quality in education, and the need for deregulation.

(Source: http://www.mbauniverse.com/article/id/5444/)