Education Then and Now: the Review of Indian Management Education
Abstract
The current scenario with respect to management education is dismal. The liberation process initiated in India in the year 1991 gave a major fillip for the industries. With this a demand was created for the best brains in management education to run these major industries. So this led to the number of B- schools in India. Today many of the B- schools have been opened throughout the length and breadth of India. The quality of management is suffering so this has led to poor demand for the management seats. It is a secondary data. I got the information from various sources like books, journals, networks, etc. So, this is “Education then and now” essay which has an attempt to highlight the past, and the present issues prevalent in the management education and giving certain suggestions to improve the quality which will attract a greater number of students toward management education in future.
Introduction
Management itself as a discipline has evolved from fundamental disciplines of philosophy, economics mathematics, accounting, statistics, computer science, psychology and industrial engineering. Management education in India is predominantly a derivative of Western management thought and practice. In India, management education is seen as elitist. Often, young man and women are attracted to management studies because they need some education, experience and exposure to create something good and hence useful to society but are usually motivated by the positive consequences associated with management education. Management education in India is not very old after the establishment of the Indian Institute of Technology, there was dire need for similar establishment in the field of management education. Thus came into existence Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A), followed soon after buy one in Kolkata (IIM-C), starting with the establishment of four Indian Institutes of Management Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Lucknow, and management education is now being offered as full time/part-time MBA programs by some leading universities in the country the apex regulator for technical education – All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has reveled that there are 3644 business schools in the country offering Master of Business Administration (MBA), while there are 308 institutions offering Post Graduate Diploma Management (PGDM). The statistics gives the clear picture about the growing number of management schools in India. One of the main reasons for this phenomenal growth is the growth in the economy after the Introduction of LPG which lead to increase in demand for people with management skills. There was an increase in the number of students getting admitted to the B-schools. The college management saw this as an opportunity to make money by starting B-schools by making use of the existing demand which was there.
Objectives of the Study
- To analyse the Indian system in past and present;
- To know the Indian management education system in future scenario.
Sources of the Data
It is a secondary data. I got the information from various sources like books, journals, networks, etc. So, this paper is an attempt to highlight the past, and the present issues prevalent in the management education and giving certain suggestions to improve the quality which will attract a greater number of students toward management education in future.
Need of the Study
The aim of the study is to present and justify the Indian management education in past, present and future. It is the secondary data from the various sources like the books, journals, networks, etc. so this paper is to highlight the past and present issues of the management education. The study is to get good suggestions to improve the quality to attract more students in future.
The Beginning of Management Education
Now, coming to management education; management education was liberalized by the Indian government in 1990’s after which they became immensely popular. Many Institutes and colleges were incepted with management and technical education as their fort. The boom occurred because of the prestigious IIMs, IITs, IIFT and other famous colleges which not only garnered global recruiters but many fortunes 500 companies started recruiting from these colleges via campus placement directly.
History of Management Education
The 50s was a period of slow growth in management education in India. It was marked by a search for content, direction and emphasis with regard to all these programs. There was also a big debate going on at that time to see that whether all these programs should be offered to fresh graduates at all. The formation of the first board of management studies in 1955 under the dynamic leadership of sir Jahangir Ghandy of TISCO, who is rightly described as the father of management education in this country. The management education system was made in 1964 by the courses committee of the All India Board of Technical Study in Management. This committee recommended few changes in the requirements for the infrastructure facilities and curriculum. These changes we’re followed by many of the schools which were then in existence.
The 60s saw the emergence of India as a major center of Management education. The establishment of Indian institute of Management, Calcutta (IIMC) in 1961 and the Indian institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA) in 1962 the establishment of management division at the Xavier Labor Relations Institute (XLRI) in the year 1966, offering of full time programs in Delhi and Bombay Universities and the entry of number of other universities marked in a quantum jump with respect the numbers, recognition, prestige and impact of management education system in the country is of great interest to note that IIMC and IIMA came into being well before the establishment of the London and the Manchester schools of business in the UK.
The major developments in the 70s included the founding of the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) in October 1973. IIMB was founded with a different perspective and machine a high public sector orientation and a special commitment to public systems. The 70s saw a steady quantitative growth management schools with the number reaching to about 55. However, some of the controversy of the 60s continued to plague management education.
The 80s were marked by an explosive growth in the number and variety of management schools. Some of the significant developments of the period we’re as follows: “Nearly 50 management schools came into being during this decade. Of these, easily one-half were in the private sector. A number of private sector colleges affiliated to the universities began to offer MBA programs. In Bombay city alone, there are 8 such institutions offering MBA programs the IIM, Lucknow, was established in 1984. The emergence of the International Management Institutions (IMI) with its links with IMI, Geneva and McGill Universities, Canada, had a lot of commitment to international management education. This was a watershed in Indian management education. In 1986, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) approved a revised set of norms and physical facilities for the recognition of the new management schools. The Association of the Indian Management Schools (AIMS) was formed as the National Forum of Management Schools in the country on August 27, 1988, in Bangalore”.
Present Structure of Indian Management Education
The present Indian management education is divided into six categories:
- Indian Institute of Management (IIMs) set up by government of India.
- University Departments of Management Studies, distance, correspondence and part time courses as well.
- Colleges and institutes affiliated to Universities.
- Private or Govt. Institutes approved by all India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).
- Private colleges or institutes offering MBA courses in India in collaboration with foreign universities where degree and diploma certificates are awarded by the foreign countries.
Now a days, learning has become students centric branding has accelerated the management education. Top B-Schools are continuously striving towards changing the contents and delivery modes. It is equally imperative to Indian B-Schools to strive continuously to make management education context specific. But the present proliferation of B-Schools raises a serious question on the quality of management education. Where will this proliferation of B-Schools leave the country? What will be the quality of managers which are produced by these B-Schools. This sudden proliferation has led to a considerable decline in the quality of management education. The best in India is not the best internationally. The IIMs particularly Ahmedabad, Calcutta, Bangalore, Lucknow consistently have been ranked among the top by almost all surveys. These B-Schools are ranked in India and Asia- Pacific, but when they are compared to global rankings they fall to appear in top 100 B-Schools I’m the ranking. During the last few years as many as 1018 B-Schools were added in India. Maximum numbers of B-Schools are present in the southern part of the country. Andhra Pradesh and Orissa both have approximately 300 B-Schools.
Future Management Education System in India
Indian B-Schools are ready to meet challenges and shape managers matching to global expectations. Management education is becoming more important in a contemporary and interdisciplinary world. It equips one to make profitable and judicious decisions within the limitations of resources, materials, men and machines. This stands a management graduate in good steady in almost every professional domain.
After going through the past and present of management education, it is very much visible that many loop holes are visible in the management education. So, it is very much important to come up with solutions for the problems that are prevalent in the management education. So, some of the suggestions to improve the management are:
The faculties should internalize the concepts and also try to implement the concepts which are being taught in the classrooms practically in the institute which serves as an example for the student. There is lack of conviction.
The B-Schools should conduct such FDPs which really concentrate on the content which are highly relevant to the existing needs aa well as the quality which will benefit the teaching fraternity who in turn will be able to disseminate the knowledge gained out of such quality FDPs to the student community.
The institutions must insist that anyone joining the MBA programme must have a minimum of three years of experience in a managerial or supervisory capacity. A person who has worked for some time will have a greater clarity in his mind as to why he is doing the course and relate concepts and techniques to real life situations, this appears to be the case in most of the institutions abroad. There needs to be a dialogue between industry and academia tp evolve a programme which, in the long run, ensures that candidates benefit the most from the programme and the organisation also derives benefits.
The institute should also focus on placements, since, majority of the student’s institutes based on the track record with respect to placements. So, in order to survive in the competition from the other B-Schools it is very important for them to concentrate on the placement aspects.
Conclusion
If the present trend continues with the management education then definitely the future of it looks very bleak. So all the management institutes should gear up for the changes that need to be introduced in terms of curriculum, pedagogy, and many other aspects of the management education so that more number of students do come and join the management courses who become the best managers with good conceptual, analytical and technical skills, who would contribute to the development of the companies and in turn would continue to become good citizens with value who would serve the society through their company’s corporate social responsibilities initiatives.
Bibliography
- Chaudhary, Sarita et al., (2011) Emerging Issues in Management Education in India. VSRD International Journal of Business and Management Research, 1(3).
- Mehta Adarsh Preet., (2014) New Paradigms in Contemporary Management Education in India. Indian Journal of Research, 3(5).
- Saha G Gautam., (2012) Management Education in India: Issues and Concerns. Journal of Information Knowledge and Research in Business Management and Administration, 2(1), 35-40
