Business schools fail to attract students
Business schools in India are battling problems of unfilled seats, high attrition rate of teachers and poor placements. Vanita Srivastava reports. End of the MBA dream?
Business schools in India are battling problems of unfilled seats, high attrition rate of teachers and poor placements.
Of the 2.82 lakh seats in the more than 3300 All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) recognised management institutes, 30.48% were not filled in 2012-13. The number for 2011-12 and 2010-11 was 33.58% and 26.82%, respectively.
"Without redesigning, the MBA degree will drift into irrelevance," feel experts.
Survival tactics include addressing the basic premises on which management education is based. This includes revising curriculum to make it job relevant.
In 2013-14, 145 business schools applied for closure - while 110 applications were received for opening new institutes, much less than the 244 applications two years ago.
"The supply has certainly exceeded the demand," AICTE chairman SS Mantha said.
Tripurari Pandey, director, Ajay Kumar Garg Institute of Management adds: "The good students go to IIMs. If the market is dry, it becomes a daunting task to get good placements."
The average salary of an MBA graduate is R15000-20000 per month, says Satish Kumar, director Vidya School of Management. "When a student can get the same salary by doing a certification course why will he go for MBA?"
"Over the years a large number of management institutes have opened up but they are not focussing on knowledge and skill," says Lalitya Vir Srivastava director Asian Business School.
