More and more students are opting to study in local business schools

Mumbai: The proportion of MBA aspirants in India preferring to study at business schools within the country surged to 28% in 2021 from 18% before the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019, according to the findings of a survey conducted by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) shared exclusively with ET.

"Indian citizens' preference to study internationally in 2021 has declined from 2019 and 2020," said Matt Hazenbush, director of research analysis and communications, GMAC. "Consistent with what we are seeing in other traditionally internationally mobile markets, since the start of the pandemic Indian candidates are increasingly considering business school options closer to home."

The GMAC, a global association of leading graduate business schools, surveyed more than 6,500 individuals worldwide and 1,598 individuals in India who expressed interest in graduate business education in 2021.


Hazenbush attributed the shift to both the pandemic-induced restrictions and the increasing popularity of Indian business schools. "While uncertainty around travel restrictions and health concerns related to the pandemic likely account for some of this, the reputation of Indian business schools is rising internationally," he said.

Education experts said it is not just a post-pandemic phenomenon but also reflective of increasing job opportunities for management graduates in India and the high-value local roles available now. This is indicated in the record placements at some of India's top business schools, including the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), Indian School of Business (ISB) and SPJIMR.

"One of the prime factors for the increasing popularity of a domestic MBA degree is the availability of high-value jobs as MBA hiring activity has increased significantly in India in the last few years," said Amitabh Jhingan, education sector leader, EY Parthenon.

A big driver for this is the strong economic activity in India. "Companies across the spectrum from private equity backed high growth digital businesses to consulting firms, global back offices of international firms and large Indian conglomerates continue to expand and look for high quality talent," said Jhingan.

On the other hand, he said, the US, one of the most popular destinations for Indian students, has a tighter job market for fresh talent except for tech and digital roles.

Some attributed this also to the high return on investment in terms of lower cost and high placement outcome. GMAC data showed that domestic candidates in India are especially focused on affordability, with 58% citing it as a reason for their destination choice.

However, despite slipping marginally in students' preference to 33.8% in 2021 from 36.5% in 2019, the US still remained the top international study destination. The top five study destinations for Indian business degree aspirants were the US, India, Canada, UK and France.

Interest in schools in Canada fell to 10.2% from 13.2% and in France to 4.9% from 7.4% over this period.

Data showed that despite cost concerns, domestic candidates viewed the professional value of a graduate business degree as highly as they did prior to the pandemic. Globally, more than 80% of candidates agreed that a graduate business degree helps one stand out at work -consistent with the pre-pandemic levels. The full-time MBA programme continued to be the most popular option, with one out of four candidates preferring the two-year full-time format and another one in five preferring the one-year full time format.