IIM’s going to foreign shores – Is it too soon??

The ongoing stand-off between the IIM and the government finally ended recently with both sides resorting to compromises at both ends. The fine points in the issue were too many and critical at the same time. IIM’s have been struggling to recruit and retain the best faculty to maintain the high education standards that it has come to be known with. Autonomy was also an issue which the IIM’s wanted to sort out.

The recent meeting paved way for coming to terms with a sustainable solution for both stakeholders. Some of the critical issue mentioned above were discussed and solutions proposed,

• Directors of IIMs, the best- known business schools in the country, and members on their respective boards will now be appointed through an independent collegium, instead of a pan-IIM board suggested by a government-appointed panel last year. IIM’s will enjoy more autonomy
• faculty members will now be eligible for additional performance-based incentives It will become easier for the IIM’s to recruit the best faculty
• The IIM institutes have agree to submit a vision document to the ministry by January. Government will have a clear picture of the IIM action plan

But the biggest of the them all was the government approval for ,

IIM’s to setup Schools abroad

IIM’s had been keen to set shop abroad for sometime but the approvals never came through. With the government opening up the sector to pave way for foreign schools setting shop in India, the IIM’s were keen to do likewise and venture outwards. Moreover, with foreign universities ready to dish out fatter pay packets, IIM’s were getting wary of losing their best teachers.

The idea definitely makes sense in a way that the IIM’s have every right to become a truly Global brand by setting up branches abroad.

The only sore point in the whole equation according to me is – are the IIM’s doing it too soon?

It is a well known fact that even with the IIM brand hardly 3 out of the 6 schools maintain the high standards that come with the IIM brand and there is an acute shortage of faculty at most of the places. With the IIM’s cleared to set shop abroad, their focus is bound to shift to their new branches abroad in order to make inroads into the Global rankings. If they push their best resources and investments into the new ventures, How would the Indian Branches maintain the quality of education?

I am not against the idea of setting up branches abroad, but as A S Narang, Professor, Faculty of Management Studies aptly put it,

“The six IIMs together produce no more than 1,500 graduates against the demand of over 20,000 every year. Shouldn’t they focus on meeting this demand first?”

So, instead of venturing abroad to get global recognition why not expand seats and invite foreign nationals to study here !

This would add to the cultural diversification and help the students and faculty collaborate at a global level.

What do you think ?

[This post has been written by our regular contributor Ankit Agarwal, an ERP Consultant by profession, a wannabe entrepreneur and stock market stalker by passion]

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Author: Arun Prabhudesai

Arun Prabhudesai is founder / chief editor at trak.in. He jumped the Entrepreneurship bandwagon in early 2008 after a long 13 year stint in I.T Industry. You can follow him on twitter @trakin or get in touch with him at admin-at-trak-dot-in or 91.9822575676.

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Tagged as: Ankit Agarwal, autonomy, best known business, business-schools, critical issue, Education standards, Foreign Education, global brand, government approval, high education, iim ahmedabad, IIM going abroad, IIMs in India, Setting up IIM abroad, sustainable solution, vision document