Private B-schools at a disadvantage?

What kind of an impact will the Indian Institutes of Management Bill have over the 500 private institutions offering postgraduate diploma in management (PGDM) in India?

Private B-school authorities feel the bill, if passed, might create “an unfavourable situation” for institutions such as XLRI, Jamshedpur; SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai; Management Development Institute, Gurgaon; Birla Institute of Technology Management (BIMTECH) Greater Noida; and Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad; among others.

Prof Harivansh Chaturvedi, executive president, Education Promotion Society of India (EPSI), and director BIMTECH, says, “It might create an unfavourable situation, putting the market validity of the PGDM programmes at a loss. These Bschools sustain on the basis of quality education they impart, have large alumni base and work without any government aid and funds.”

It will be a good idea if the HRD ministry also evolves the process of empowering these private B-schools, feels Prof Chaturvedi.

The EPSI had earlier written to the MHRD on the matter requesting the ministry to allow PGDM institutions to offer MBA degrees too. “Instead of focusing on only 20 IIMs, the government must work on improving Indian management education as a whole. We propose that a Management Education Bill should be designed which can replace the proposed IIM Bill. Also, all those PGDM institutions which have been accredited by the National Board of Accreditation or National Assessment and Accreditation Council can be given degreeawarding powers similar to IIMs as proposed,” he suggests.

Another suggestion is the setting up of an Indian Management Council as a regulatory body for management education. It can take over the current role of All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) on management education and can act as a catalyst for management education at undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral levels.

These B-schools had also submitted a memorandum to former HRD minister Smriti Irani in April 2016. These institutions have also been struggling to get out of the ambit of the AICTE as their regulator and the matter is pending in the Supreme Court.

According to Fr E Abraham SJ, director, XLRI, Jamshedpur, “The proposed IIM Bill 2015 recommends granting statutory status to 13 existing IIMs to enable them to grant MBA degrees to their students. Till now, these institutions like other PGDM schools could award only PG diploma and fellow programme in management, which lacked universal acceptability in the field of academia and research. This recommendation, if implemented will put the top private B-schools which are on par with the leading IIMs at a distinct disadvantage. I hope that the government will extent degree-granting status to the other B-schools as well, giving them a level-playing field.”