B-schools hit by poor colleges, slowdown

MUMBAI: Joining a professional college was once the pinnacle of an Indian student’s career. Aspirants far outnumbered the seats available. So, students , left with little choice, would join anonymous professional colleges. But often, they were put off by one or more of these three reasons: poor quality of teaching, lack of adequate faculty or no job offer at the end.

“A young graduate would rather take up a job or prepare harder for another shot at an entrance exam which is the gateway to a better college,” said an IIT director. The problem is also linked to the economic slowdown, said an IIM director . “MBA as a programme has to be relooked at in many colleges. It is time the AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education) set up quality control cells. Indian professional education has to move up to the next level,” he said.
AICTE chairman S S Mantha said, “This is a critical phase for the professional education sector. Professional education must be in line with industry. If you don't offer placements, students are not going to come. Colleges in remote India and institutes of poor quality are not getting students. There is just one key to attracting students: institutes need to be top-of-the-line . There is no payoff in running a bad college.”

But things seem to be looking up, he said. “As the economy revives, we will see a larger pool of applications from colleges wanting to start. We have received close to 120 applications from Bschools for the next academic year.”

Meanwhile, the AICTE has decided to allow colleges to offer a five-year dual degree programme and also permit graduates of science, BSc (computer science) and BSc (information technology ) to jump to the second year of the MCA course. Yet, the small positive growth in the sector is from the engineering colleges where new institutes are coming up faster than closures taking place, largely in Andhra, UP, Maharashtra , Punjab and Rajasthan.