Today, there is an acute shortage of skilled faculty

1. TODAY, THERE IS AN ACUTE
SHORTAGE OF SKILLED FACULTY
In the wake of the proposed IIM Bill, which aims to allow the IIMs to
confer MBA degrees in lieu of PGDMs, Padmashree Bakul Dholakia,
the director general of IMI Delhi and ex-director of IIM Ahmedabad
shares the pros and cons of the move while highlighting the key flaws
in the Indian management education system

2. Q DO YOU THINK TODAY'S EMPLOYERS ACTUALLY
DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN A DEGREE AND A DIPLOMA?
Today's employers do not distinguish between PGDM awarded by well-
established IIMs and MBA certifications awarded by reputed
universities. The diplomas awarded by premier private B-schools
command the same market acceptance as the IIMs. However, diplomas
awarded by IIMs and premier private B-schools have always been rated
higher than the MBA degrees awarded by most universities in India,
primarily due to the better quality of management education imparted
in these autonomous institutes.

3. Q DO YOU AGREE THAT THE MOVE MAY JEOPARDISE THE
CREDIBILITY OF PGDM PROGRAMMES OFFERED BY TOP PRIVATE
BSCHOOLS IN THE COUNTRY?
The market acceptance of PGDM as equivalent to MBA was primarily
due to the brand and positioning of PGDM programmes offered by
older IIMs. But if the government takes certain steps, so that top-
performing B-schools can also confer degrees, it won't jeopardise but
strengthen the quality of B-schools.

4. Q DO YOU THINK THE BILL WILL ALSO PUSH PROSPECTS OF
INDIAN INSTITUTES FINDING A PLACE IN THE GLOBAL RANKING
LIST?
Yes, I do believe that the degree-granting status conferred on IIMs will
strengthen their position in the global market, provided they further
upgrade the quality of education and continue to enjoy the autonomy
they have enjoyed in the past.

5. Q WHAT ROLE CAN THE MINISTRY OF HRD PLAY IN PROVIDING A
LEVEL-PLAYING FIELD, SO THAT OTHER B-SCHOOLS TOO COULD
DOLE OUT MBA DEGREES?
The Ministry of HRD along with AICTE need to identify a creditable
independent agency that can rate and identify premier quality B-
schools in the private sector. The management institutes on the basis of
the well-defined objectives and parameters need to create an
appropriate framework to ensure the effective implementation of
rating agencies recommendations.

6. Q WHAT ARE THE MAJOR CHALLENGES THAT THE INDIAN
MANAGEMENT EDUCATION IS GRAPPLING WITH?
The main challenges faced by the Indian management education
system today include a lack of focus on quality; an acute shortage of
skilled faculty; an inadequate interface with industry and corporate;
failure to keep pace with a constantly changing business environment
and practices in terms of the required upgradation of the curriculum
and course package; a dearth of relevant and contextual indigenous
case material; a scarcity of effective leaders to drive the required
change in B-schools and an inadequate focus on robust governance
systems.

7. Q ARE THERE ANY CONCRETE WAYS THROUGH WHICH THE
SYSTEM COULD BE MADE ROBUST?
1) B-schools should be encouraged to start international student exchange
programmes with universities in emerging markets;
2) At present, there is no difference in terms of the approach from AICTE for
accredited institutions. Accreditation should be made mandatory for B-
schools, which are effectively functioning for more than five years and
AICTE should provide special incentives to the accredited institutes;
3) There is a need for setting up performance appraisal systems for faculty,
which should be linked to parameters of performance that addresses
quality of work, i.e. development of case studies, research output,
development of new pedagogy, innovative methods of teaching,
introducing new courses and new curriculum, etc. These are time-
consuming and arduous activities; hence, the faculty should adequately
be rewarded as these would improve the quality of the course.

8. For details and bookings contact:-
Parveen Kumar Chadha… THINK TANK
(Founder and C.E.O of Saxbee Consultants & Other-Mother
marketingandcommunicationconsultants.com)
Email :-saxbeeconsultants@gmail.com
Mobile No. +91-9818308353
Address:-First Floor G-20(A), Kirti Nagar, New Delhi India Postal Code-110015