CHANNELING THE CHANGE

THE INDIA TODAY GROUP-MDRA BEST BUSINESS SCHOOLS SURVEY SHOWS AN ENCOURAGING TREND-THE GAP BETWEEN THE TOP-RANKING INSTITUTES AND THOSE AT THE BOTTOM HAS ALMOST HALVED. ANOTHER NEW BEGINNING-RANKING OF THE BEST SHORT-TERM COURSES

- Kaushik Deka

Management education in India saw a rapid evolution after the economic liberalisation in 1991, paving the way for the entry of global corporate culture in India. As private industry grew, it also led to substantial increase in the demand for management graduates. Consequently, a large number of public and private institutions offering management courses came up. These were in addition to the globally reputed Indian Institutes of Management (IIM). So, today we have more than 4,000 management schools, including the management departments at universities, enrolling around 300,000 students each academic year.

Yet, the mushrooming of management schools has not necessarily led to improvement in the quality of pedagogy, with a large number of them suffering from structural weaknesses such as lack of infrastructure and well-trained faculty. These shortcomings create a disconnect between academia and industry as curricula and training are not aligned with industry requirements. It's not surprising then that the India Skills Report 2023, published by online testing firm Wheebox, has found that 40 per cent of the management graduates in India are unemployable.

In this context, an independent assessment of the management institutes to examine if they are aligned with the emerging business environment, new requirements and consequent challenges becomes crucial. The India Today GroupMDRA Best Business Schools survey does exactly that. With the rising cost of business education and the shrinking space for employment with existing skills, students need to be well-informed on which institutes have the best curricula, faculty and industry connect to prepare them for the evolving work environment. What differentiates the top B-schools from the rest is their awareness about the challenges of the future and readiness to upgrade the pedagogy and physical infrastructure to adapt to these changes.