ISB not knowtowing before regulator

MUMBAI: One would imagine that a college with a sprawling campus, cutting-edge facilities and faculty members of international repute would be in the government’s good books. After all, we are talking about the prestigious Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, which hit the headlines when one of its graduates got a salary offer of approximately Rs 1.04 crore.

However, that does not seem good enough for the All India Council for Technical Education, which has bracketed ISB with a bunch of unapproved B-schools operating in the country. Reason: ISB has not bothered to kowtow before the council, seeking its approval or ratings.

The college, on its website, proudly notes, “We have not sought recognition for our Post Graduate Programme in Management from either AICTE or the UGC (University Grants Commission).’’ Instead, the institute is busy lobbying for an international accreditation from a US-based body governing management studies.


The AICTE has, since the institute’s inception, sent several warnings and more recently legal notices asking it to get the council’s approval. According to the rulebook, every management institution should have AICTE recognition.

ISB, though, has been looking the other way. Director (communications) Bhuvana Ramalingam acknowledged that the AICTE has written to them. “But we are not interested ," she said.

ISB would rather have the approval of US-based Association to Advance Collegiate School of Business. “We are ready for the AACSB accreditation ," Ramalingam said.


Offering a one-year fulltime postgraduate programme in management, ISB started its journey in 2001 with 128 students. In a span of six years, the annual intake swelled to 425. None of those who have joined or passed out seemed to be worried over the fact that ISB is not recognised by the AICTE.


Going by the AICTE’s rules, an institute with a similar student intake requires a little more than one acre of land and about 27 faculty members.

ISB, in comparison, is spread over 260 acres of land with about 25 full-time residential faculty members and 100 visiting faculty members for the 90 electives they offer.

It also has tie-ups with the famed Kellogg School of Management and Wharton School, besides a board of corporate highrollers, including Lakshmi Mittal and Scott Bayman . But all that doesn’t seem good enough.

ISB’S EXECUTIVE BOARD

Lakshmi Mittal, N R Narayana Murthy, Anil Ambani, Rajat Gupta, Rahul Bajaj, Adi Godrej, Uday Kotak, Deepak Parekh, Sanjay Nayar, B Ramalinga Raju, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw

GOVERNING BOARD

President and CEO of GE India Scott Bayman, President (foods), Unilever, M S Banga, Dell chairman Michael S Dell,

Vodafone chief executive Arun Sarin, managing director, Credit Suisse group, Urs Hofmann, British Sky Broadcasting chairman and CEO James Murdoch