Govt to fix minimum standards for MBA, computer courses

NEW DELHI: Students, it seems, have at last found a kindred spirit in the portals of power. Someone who understands the despair of working towards a degree only to be told that it is not good enough.
This is a frequent occurrence with post graduate degrees or diplomas in management and computer applications. To rectify the situation, the ministry of human resource development is working on a proposal to ensure a basic minimum standard for courses in business management and computer applications.
There is a growing understanding among experts. One way of protecting students from working towards meaningless degrees is to pay close attention to the admission process. At present, at least 37% of institutes offering degrees or diplomas in business management conduct their own entrance test.
The entrance examinations conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), All India Management Association and state common entrance tests are well regulated. However, the same can’t be said for individual institutions conducting exams.
There is no regulation of these individual private institutes. As such there is no monitoring of eligibility criteria, objectivity or adherence to standards.
The Ishwar Dayal Committee which had been set up by the government had suggested a single entrance examination for all management courses. However, the All India Council for Technical Education recommended that admissions be carried through accredited entrance examinations.
What this means is that entrance examinations conducted by premier institutions like the IIMs would be left undisturbed. Also the state entrance examinations would not be abolished. What this would do is reduce the number of entrance exams to four or five. To ensure that there is no manipulation and a minimum standard is maintained, it is recommended that admission process involve faculty members of the institutions as well as members from the professional community.