Amid economy-related bad news — hiring freezes and low salary packages — there’s some good news for those who wish to pursue an MBA. With the demand for MBAs rising again, top B-schools across the country are set to hike their intake this year or the next.
SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai, plans to increase intake in its postgraduate diploma in management (PGDM) from 180 to 240. Director Shesha Iyer said, “We are awaiting the All India Council for Technical Education’s (AICTE) nod.”
State-owned Sydenham Institute of Management is also doubling intake for the first time since its inception in 1983. It has applied to the AICTE for the same in the backdrop of CMAT becoming compulsory for all from 2013. Director Prof MA Khan said, “We have 60 seats each in MMS and PGDBM. Once CMAT becomes compulsory, PGDBM will be open to out-of-state students as well. Hence, we have asked for 60 more seats in MMS as admission in this course will be restricted to state students.”
XLRI School of Business and Human Resources, Jamshedpur, plans to increase intake from 2013. Two postgraduate programmes, which have 120 seats each, will touch 180 each next year. Hyderabad’s Indian School of Business, which has 570 seats, will have a new campus in Mohali with 200 seats.
Number of aspirants in top B-schools is also on the rise. Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies got 20% more applications this year. Director Amrish Patel said, “Last year, we had received 39,000 applications for PGDBM. This year, the number has crossed to 54,000.” SP Jain too saw a rise in applications from last year’s 14,000 to 16,000 this year.
While there still is a huge gap between demand and supply in good schools, a large number of seats remain vacant in B-schools located in the interiors as they lack basic infrastructure and good teachers.
As much as 50% management seats (16,400) remained vacant in Maharashtra in 2011, in spite of that AICTE is flooded with new requests from state. Council’s state chief AK Shukla said, “Nearly, 111 applications are pending for increase in intake or new schools for engineering, management and other technical schools. Breakup is yet to be seen.”
“For a country like India, which is growing, demand is not an issue with respect to quality MBA programmes. Unfortunately, a lot of institutes churn out students of poor quality for whom there is no market value,” said Janat Shah, Director of IIM, Udaipur.
