research is key for excellence in B-schools

Foreign educational institutions are bound to be allowed to come in to establish institutions either on their own or as joint ventures, so the competition will intensify

The report of the committee to review the functioning of the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) which was submitted to the Union ministry of human resource development (HRD), has been facing criticism within the IIMs since October. One of the biggest criticism was that the panel’s recommendations interfere with the autonomy of the IIMs. The panel in turn finds the B-schools’ management development programmes eroding the quality of their teaching and research. The ministry has now invited public comments on the recommendations.

Former Maruti Udyog Ltd. chairman R.C. Bhargava, who headed the panel, speaks about IIMs‘ autonomy, faculty MDPs and of dealing with intensifying competition from private business schools in an interview with Mint.

Excerpts:

The IIMs have turned out to be leaders in business education in India till now and they attract the brightest of students, both boys and girls. At the end of two-year post graduate programme, they are very much in demand, both inside and outside India. That’s the measure of the quality of education at the IIMs.

What we felt as a committee is that now they face a challenge from private investment in business education. It has been growing rapidly and will continue to grow because everyone has seen there is a big gap between demand and supply of good business education in this country—for 1,800 odd seats at the IIMs, about 2.5 lakh candidates take the exam every year. People invest where they see demand.

Foreign educational institutions are bound to be allowed to come in to establish institutions either on their own or as joint ventures so the competition will intensify. There is already some competition from private business schools but IIMs are still way ahead.

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