Hi folks,
Penned this article in October 2008 while doing BBA at Kolkata
The MBA mania has already gripped the nation with the dates for all the major entrance exams out. The frenzy for those coveted 3 letters in one’s resume’ is turning more insane with each passing year. Sample this: More than 2 lac aspirants appeared for the CAT last year with barely 1700 odd students finally securing admissions into the hallowed portals of the seven IIMs. Simple arithmetic tells us the seat-candidate ratio, a mind-boggling 1: 118. All this might send a chill down the spine of any MBA aspirant. But it is hardly surprising to know that it is relatively easier to get into Harvard or Kellogg’s which attract students globally (and are the topmost B-schools in the world) compared to our IIMs which attract the students locally.
Some argue that the top-rung management institutes should maintain their exclusivity by keeping their annual intakes as low as possible so that the quality of students does not get diluted. But then is everything alright with the entire B-school selection process in India? A closer scrutiny reveals something terribly wrong. An analysis of the batch profiles of IIMs and other super-league Indian B-schools tells us that engineers constitute more than 80% of the total students, with students from humanities barely present. The entrance exams are heavily focused on quantitative aptitude and data interpretation which come easily to engineers. Excessive focus on entrance exam percentiles deprives many of the highly deserving students from non-engineering streams, the opportunity to pursue an MBA from such renowned institutions. As a result they have to settle for the mediocre B-schools. With the increase in the number of engineering graduates (mass-produced) every year, it is not difficult to imagine the day when only engineers shall constitute the students of such top B-schools.
The major reasons behind this phenomenon are firstly, most of the bright students in India opt for engineering or pure sciences after completing their higher secondary education. The rigor of a 4-year long course fails to instill the spirit of creativity and original thinking in them. The lure of fat pay packets and swanky offices prove too much for such students, who instead of working in companies where they can utilize their knowledge of engineering or pursuing their master’s for a career in research, end up sitting for B-school entrance exams. This not only deprives the core industrial sector of quality engineers but also severely dents India’s indigenous research and development (as there aren’t enough people with PhDs in engineering subjects further worsening the crunch for quality faculty in engineering colleges).The fundamental nature of the MBA entrance exams confers on them an overwhelming edge over students from other streams. In a rapidly globalizing world, companies need managers who are thought leaders and who can execute their plans keeping in mind all the stakeholders with minimal conflict, not people who are good at solving complex mathematical problems in limited time. The ability to think over an issue holistically is ignored altogether whereas this is one of the most essential traits of a successful manager in this modern era.
It is therefore essential to look at the B-school admission process abroad for any remedies. In the U.S, as well as at other places, an entrance exam is conducted to gauge the aptitude of the applicant for an MBA to some extent. However it is not used as a rejecting tool like the CAT and other entrance exams in India. A host of other parameters like work experience, academic track-record, co-curricular and extra-curricular achievements are given due weightage while evaluating the application of a student. Almost one-third of the students in top B-schools abroad are from business studies background with students from humanities aptly represented. The demand-supply situation is not so skewed abroad when it comes to quality management education. Having optional papers like psychology, G.K, economics etc. in the place of quantitative aptitude and data interpretation in the MBA entrance exams would encourage students from diverse streams to showcase their talent properly. This is just one of the ways to make the entire admission process more inclusive so that students don’t feel left out. A well-balanced pool of students graduating from such top-class institutes shall definitely bring much more to the table for recruiters as well as create world-class entrepreneurs to propel India’s economy to a new level altogether. Educationists and academicians of top Indian B-schools need to rethink and restructure the whole admission process without any further delay.
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