School Education Abroad Catches The Fancy Of Indian Parents

Varun Dhawan, a 14-year-old resident of south Mumbai, has packed his bags with plenty of warm clothes and is ready to go. No, he is not going for a vacation, but is going to study at a boarding school in the US, from his Grade-VIII onwards. He is not alone. Dhawan joins a host of other Indian children who have now started moving abroad to study, starting from secondary education itself.

With a higher disposable income, affluent parents in India are not averse to the idea of sending their children abroad for school education. Educationists and education consultants say there has been a 25-30 per cent rise in the number of students going abroad for higher education.

Sunitha Perumal, country head of EF International Academy, said, "People from the upper class send their children to schools abroad. Opportunities that would be available abroad and subject combinations are very vibrant." EF International Academy provides education from grades 9 to 12 in its four campuses in the UK, US and Canada, and has seen students coming from across the world, including India, said Perumal.

For parents who do not want to send their children very far, countries like Singapore and West Asian nations offer a good opportunity. Abraham John, chairman, The Indian School, Bahrain, said the school had become a preferred destination for school education in the country. The school currently has 10,200 students; their number increased by over 1,200 in academic year 2012-13.

"Approximately, 90 per cent students are Indians in our school," John said, adding the school followed the Central Board of Secondary Education, and placed an equal emphasis on sports and other activities.

In terms of most popular destinations, educationists said countries like the US, UK and Australia followed by Germany, Singapore and Switzerland were preferred by Indian parents.

On an average, the fee structure for grades 8 to 12 is significantly higher in foreign countries, compared to India. Sample this: The parent of a grade 8 student in an average Indian school in a metro has to pay an annual tuition fee of Rs 25,000, with an additional Rs 10,000 spent on books, uniform and stationary. In an average school in the US, the fee structure may range from Rs 15 to 30 lakh depending on its size and location.

"Though schools abroad are very expensive, we are seeing an increasing number of Indian parents sending their children there. Even individuals from non-metros such as Jalandhar, Surat, Ludhiana and Indore are opting to send their children abroad for school education," said Naveen Chopra, founder and chairman of The Chopras, an overseas education consultancy.

Apart from global exposure, the option to choose from a wide range of subjects, including music and fine arts, is one of the primary reasons why parents send children to schools abroad. "In India, though schools offer facilities like music, dance and sports, these are termed extra-curricular activities. The schools do not take these activities seriously, as they are considered as components over and above the school curriculum," said a New Delhi-based consultant.

In schools abroad, small classes with an average student strength of 15 to 25, with equal emphasis on other aspects of learning, are a 'pull-factor', said consultants. "In countries like the US, there is no undue pressure on students during Grades 9-12, unlike we have here for the board examinations for these grades. Hence, parents who can afford the education there, prefer to send children to schools abroad for holistic learning, compared to textbook education in most Indian schools," said a education sector expert.

A Mumbai-based education consultant said that unlike degree education, visa regulations of most overseas nations placed lesser restrictions on students travelling to those countries for school education. "They do not see these students as a threat to the locals, in terms of employment, which is an issue for higher education courses. Hence, it is relatively easier to get a visa for pursuing school education," said the consultant.

While an overall percentage of students from India are going abroad, the percentage of those going for school education is still small. Educationists expect this trend to continue. Industry experts said that in the next five years, there would be a 30-35 per cent rise in the number of students going abroad for school education.

According to research by the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B), Indian student flows to the world grew by 256 percent between 2000 and 2009. The numbers increased from 53,266 to 1,89,629 in the same period.

Tody's Education Beyond Teaching, Tests And Textbooks

By Sultana Shiraz / INN Live

If our school education has to make a mark, it has to surpass tests and textbooks, argues INN Live. 

School education has become a mere jumble of books, syllabus, portions, homework, tests, exams, marks, grade, percentage, detentions, and impositions. Is there anything more to school education beyond these? There seems to be no proper data of improvement in learning outcomes with such education. When young minds are forced to get molded into this rigmarole it saddens our hearts.

Indian Education Needs a Big Change

By M H Ahssan

The current regulatory regime imposes five heavy costs on our higher education system. Newsindia dissects them here…

The biggest lesson of the last twenty years of economic reforms is that growth comes from the 3Es - Education, Employability and Employment. This is reinforced by the view at the exit gate of the higher education system. India is in on a higher education emergency. Our higher education system needs to deliver quantity, quality and inclusiveness. However, the current regulatory regime is sabotaging all the three requirements.

Five explicit costs which the current regulatory system imposes on our youth are:

Lower Capacity  
India’s Gross Enrolment ratio of 11% is half the world average and 20% of developed countries. Of the 8 million who pass the Class 12th exam every year, only about 5 million enter higher education and almost 3 million disappear. Most importantly, the 100% cut off of institutions like Shri Ram College of Commerce (I had joined this college in 1987) can only have three explanations. First these kids are smarter than us; highly unlikely. Second 90 is the new 70; possible. Third, this is the price of a bag of rice in a famine; only 10 lakh kids took the Class 12 exam in 1987 but this year more than 1.2 crore kids took the exam yet the number of seats has not moved much. Our demographic dividend means that 1 million kids will join the labour force every month for the next 20 years; we have no choice, we need a massive expansion of our higher education system.


Lower Competition
The current regulatory regime uses a bunch of input-related factors (land, building, ratios, etc) and require a trust structure for operation. This creates a de facto license Raj in higher education. This license Raj means that the key skill for education entrepreneurs is to get ahead in regulatory arbitrage and this leads to an adverse selection among education entrepreneurs because it biases the field in favour of politicians, criminals and land mafia. This means that first generation entrepreneurs backed by third party capital are unable to create organisations that would add to capacity. This creates big issues because the quality of so-called private education and private entrepreneurs becomes a self-referential argument against private education.

 Lower Inclusiveness
Because of lower capacity and competition, the current higher education system is not inclusive when you unpack the Gross Enrolment ratio from a geographic, gender or disadvantaged group perspective. More than 330 of our districts have lower gross enrolment ratios than the national average. The ratios for women and scheduled castes and tribes are between 25-35% lower than the national average. While the case for reservation of seats in higher education is complex, the most important antidote to lack of inclusiveness will be a massive expansion of capacity.

 Lower Lifelong Learning
Our higher education system is designed for full-time students between the age of 18-25. But besides the flow of new students from school, there are a number of participants in the labour force who would like to complete, continue to start their higher education but need more flexibility. This flexibility today is sabotaged by the apartheid in distance education and the lack of a qualification corridor. The distance education solution is obvious; large campuses need to be legitimately and massively supplemented with four other classrooms; cloud, satellite, on-the-job and small study centres. The lack of a qualification corridor between a 3-month certificate, a 1-year diploma, a 2-year associate degree and a 3-year degree has sabotaged vertical mobility. The proposed National Vocational Educational Qualification Framework is a great move but requires a level of co-ordination between the Ministry of HRD, Labour, and the States, which is yet to be created.

 Lower Employability
The lack of employability (soft skills, computers, etc) is pervasive among many graduates. In fact, graduate unemployment is higher than normal unemployment. This low employability arises for many reasons; lower competition, centralised setting of curriculum, no modularity, the lack of employer involvement and the lack of credit for formal apprenticeships. India has only 2.5 lakh apprentices while much smaller countries like Japan (10 million) and Germany (6 million) have shown how integrating on-the-job training into learning can greatly improve employment outcomes. We estimate that about 58% of India’s youth suffer some degree of unemployability.

 Last mile: Interventional or structural?
The policy agenda around skills is not impossible or unknown. Employment Exchanges need to become public-private partnership career centres that offer counselling, assessment, training, apprenticeships and job matching. The Apprenticeship Act of 1961 must be amended to view an apprenticeship as a classroom rather than a job and shift the regulatory thought regime from push (employers under the threat of jail) to pull (make them volunteers). The National Vocational Educational Qualification Framework must be agreed to by the States and the Ministries of Labour and HRD as the unifying open architecture tool for recognition of prior learning and vertical mobility between school leavers, certificates, diplomas and degrees. Delivery systems are in the hands of the States and each State must create a skill mission or vocational training corporation tasked with building capacity and quality. The States should also create asset banks to make existing government real estate available for skill delivery.

 Need for English skills
All schools must teach English because English is like Windows; an operating system that creates geographic mobility and improves employment outcomes by 300%. Schools and Colleges must selectively embed vocational subjects ,particularly soft skills, into their curriculum.

 Flexibility of options
The regulatory cholesterol around national distance education (mail order, e-learning and satellite) must be reviewed to offer flexible options for workers already in the workforce and the geographically disadvantaged. We must create a national network of community colleges offering two-year associate degrees; these colleges, rooted in the local ecosystem, will serve the informal sector (92% of employment). This missing mezzanine layer – their two years programmes are not normal degrees on a diet but vocational training on steroids – would bridge the gap between vocational education and training but make the system more inclusive. Finally, we must create skill vouchers that will allow financially disadvantaged students to get trained, wherever they want at government expense.

 No room for delay
It’s late but not too late to change. Mughal Emperor Jahangir told his gardener in Kashmir that if a tree takes 100 years to mature, that’s all the more reason to plant  it as soon as possible. In other words, the best time to start changing our higher education system was 1991 but the second best time is today.

MY INDIA - MY VOTES: Reforming Indian Education System

By Siddhi Sharma | INNLIVE

Education is our fundamental rights, as we all know. But the question here is do we understand the difference between being literate and being educated, in its real sense? The world respects the Indian intelligence, but are we recognizing their talent? Are we doing something to enhance their skills or provide them the required infrastructure, guidance and a constructive environment for their growth and progress. 

Aren’t we just burdening them with theoretical knowledge and not providing them the requisite skills to face the real life situations?There are so many grounds where we lack and lack terribly. This time while we vote lets pledge a zero tolerance for any loophole in our education system. For we know, one loophole and the entire vision of being a developed nation, flushes down the drain. 

India’s Education System Fails To Make The Grade

Children between the ages of six and 14 belonging to the economically weaker sections of society in India are entitled to free education under the Right to Education (RTE) Act. But going by the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) for 2012, which was released earlier this month, it may take a lot more to ensure that the quality of education imparted to those children is of acceptable standards.

ASER is the largest annual household survey of children in rural India focusing on the status of schooling and basic learning. Facilitated by Pratham, a Mumbai-based NGO, ASER 2012 covered over 330,000 households and about 600,000 children in the age group of three to 16.

According to the report, around 13% of children in grades one to five could not read at all and around 11% were not able recognize numbers from one to nine. Only 46.8% of all children in grade five were able to read a grade two level text. This number, in fact, has been declining over the past two years from 53.7% in 2010 and 48.2% in 2011. In mathematics, too, there has been a significant drop. In 2010, 70.9% of the children enrolled in grade five were able to solve simple two-digit subtraction problems with borrowing. This proportion declined to 61% in 2011 and 53.5% in 2012.

The report also points out that the decline in reading levels is higher among children in government schools as compared to those in private schools. At present, over 90% of schools in India are either run directly by the government or are government funded. But according to ASER 2012, in the six to 14 age group, enrollment in private schools across the country has increased from 18.7% in 2006 to 28.3% in 2012. The report adds: “If this trend continues, by 2018 India may have 50% of children attending private schools even in rural areas.” In contrast, in the U.S. more than 80% of children attend public schools and in U.K., this number is over 90%.

Talking to the media, Pratham Education Foundation CEO-president Madhav Chavan said that RTE has come to mean “the right to schooling and not to learning and education.” A statement by ASER 2012 notes: “The guarantee of education is meaningless without satisfactory learning. There are serious implications for India’s equity and growth if basic learning outcomes do not improve soon.”

Meanwhile, the quality of teacher training in India is also a matter of huge concern. According to the Central Board of Secondary Education, last year, 795,000 candidates took the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET). More than 99% of these candidates failed to pass the test. CTET certification is mandatory to become a teacher for grades one to eight in central government schools.

Commenting on the shortage of trained teachers, a recent report by Mumbai-based rating agency India Ratings and Research titled, “2013 Outlook: Indian Education Sector,” covering both primary school and higher education notes that “most organizations will find it challenging to comply with the prescribed student-teacher ratio (STR) in the coming years.” The report also adds that although the government’s spending on education in financial year 2012 increased to 3.35% of GDP from 2.62% in 2005, “the infrastructure for both school and higher education needs to be upgraded to provide better quality education and absorb new enrollments.”

Pointing out that quality of education provided by schools is directly related to the quality of its management, T. V. Mohandas Pai, chairman of Manipal Global Education Services and formerly head of human resources at Infosys says: “The quality of leadership in government schools is inadequate and they are very poorly managed. Over the past 20 years, due to political [pressure] poorly educated teachers have been recruited, often with no relevant qualifications. Post recruitment training too is inadequate.”

According to Pai, the fundamental flaw in India’s schooling system is the controls and restrictions implemented by the central and state governments. “It is very difficult to open a new school in the English medium across India, [and the existing ones] are subject to regular harassment and unable to expand freely.” Pai suggests that the only solution to stem further decline in India’s education system is to open it up. “Stop funding government schools and fund the child so that parents have a choice of schools.”

New Education Policy: What Does Government Have To Hide?

By LIKHAVEER | INNLIVE

A committee tasked with making the draft policy submitted a 250-page document to the HRD ministry on May 27, but the ministry has refused to make it public.

On May 16, Minister for Human Resource Development Smriti Irani said in an interview to the state-run All India Radio that the government expected to receive a draft New Education Policy in 15 to 20 days. At the time of this writing, the ministry has said that it does not have a draft education policy.

Producing Degrees, Not Brilliance: Just A ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ Scheme Won’t Be Enough

Women’s empowerment has suddenly become the most talked about socio-cultural issue in the South Asia region. A case in point would be the ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ scheme that was recently launched in Haryana by the Prime Minister. The Government scheme aims to educate girl children and work towards providing better welfare services for women in the country.

Education as the Means and the End
There is a general consensus about the fact that for many young girls and women living in a country like India, which is imbibed in deep patriarchal practices, education is an important tool for achieving the goal of empowerment.

Vocational Education - Plugging the skills gap

By M H Ahssan

There is a great shortage of people with employable skills. But vocational training is neither popular nor seen to be offering good job options. The challenge is to overcome this perception.

Most policy decisions in India invoke the 'guns and butter' trade-off - we have limited resources, many conflicting uses for these resources and our policy makers therefore have to make hard choices. However, there are some critical issues, the solutions for which lie less in resource allocation, and more with a change in policy and mindset. This article focuses on one such issue - the severe need that India has for skilled workers, and the inability of our existing vast educational system to produce them.

According to the International Labour Organisation, India has approximately 39 million registered unemployed persons. There are probably another 260 million who are underemployed or unemployed in the age group of 18-50 years, according to iWatch, a Mumbai-based voluntary organisation. At the same time, the organised private sector is struggling to find skilled workers, which in turn is impacting its ability to compete on a global scale.

Take the example of steel. India is targeting an increase in steel capacity by 120 per cent, to 120 million tons by 2019-2020. To achieve this, in the next few years more than eight million skilled people will be required to work in this sector. According to industry experts such as Tata Steel's HR head B N Sarangi, the country lacks the skill development centres to supply these human resources. This is the tragedy of our labour scenario - a large number of unemployed and unemployable young Indians, who are hungry to learn, but who lack the skills needed to participate in the Indian growth story.

What is the solution to this glaring mismatch? A cursory glance at several industrialised nations indicates that a thriving, dominant Vocational Education and Training (VET) system can play a significant role in reducing this imbalance. Vocational education focuses on the creation of skills in specific trades that generate employability. Its focus is significantly different from higher education in that it recognises a very basic fact from operations theory - our products, services, and potentially our long-run welfare are only as good as the weakest link in the chain. Offering quality vocational education to our youth today is of paramount importance to India's economic and social development, if we want India to become to force to be reckoned with globally.

We live in a world with diverse and evolving production lines, which in turn require diverse skill sets. While a country needs someone to produce research on say, how to build the best goods, it also needs someone who is trained to a world-class level, to man and operate the technical apparatus used to produce and maintain these world-class goods and services. The weakest link in India today is not a lack of engineers and doctors, business school students or IT professionals. It is the lack of young skilled-workers to make our steel factories run, to provide top-notch ancillary services from automobile repair and white-goods installation to planning our cities better and improving our revenues from tourism.

Large numbers, little impact
Our ambitious growth forecasts are partly based on what is known as the 'demographic dividend'. India is a very young country with over 770 million people under the age of 35. The average age in India is 25 years, compared to China, where the average age is 34 years and Europe, America or Japan, where it is 40-45 years. We expect this to translate into higher growth, via improved output, production and consumption. But the 'dividend' cannot come from the numbers alone; the nation will also require its young population to have the skills that increase productivity and output.

According to the Modular Employment Skills (MES) initiative by the Directorate General of Employment and Training, (DGET) only about 2.5 million vocational training seats are available in the country, whereas about 12.8 million people enter the labour market every year. The large gap is partly due to the lack of high-quality VET institutions. However, there is also another reason; the student population does not perceive VET as an option that gets them what they aspire for. An optimal strategy has to address both why more Indian students are not taking up vocational education, as well as aim to correct the ineffectiveness of existing providers to attract and equip motivated students with skills to become part of a productive workforce.

The good news is that vocational education is making its way on to the radar of the various influential bodies that have the power to generate change. For instance, the Prime Minister's National Council on Skill Development has been established with a target of creating 500 million skilled people by 2022. There is growing engagement by the World Bank, the Human Resource Development Ministry, industry organisations like the FICCI and CII and various consultants who recognize the importance of a skilled and employable youth population.

Industry insiders, however, are aware that mechanisms for promoting vocational education have been around in the Government for ages, in different shapes and forms, and have failed dismally for the most part. There are close to 7000 ITIs, where training is imparted in 128 trades. The period of training varies from 6 months to 3 years, while the entry qualifications are academic and vary - from those who have passed Class 8 to 12. These institutions are widely perceived - both by students and the industry - as being ineffective and out of touch with industry needs. Of the 128 trades they teach, many such as turners, machinists and grinders have been rendered obsolete by technological advances. The curriculum for several of the others e.g. several engineering trades has not been revised in several decades.

This has led to a mass-churn of graduates who are not needed by the industry and are not equipped with the basic technical know-how of their trade and as a result are becoming a part of India's vast unemployment pool. At the same time, the government is encouraging private sector participation in the form of Public-Private-Partnerships (PPPs). However, due to the lack of a transparent and intuitive accreditation system, a multitude of unaccredited institutions have sprung up in places, and a lack of any formal accreditation makes accountability and quality control impossible. There are several thousand community polytechnics that are training about 450,000 people a year, and none of these programs has been evaluated rigorously.

Unfortunately, simply reducing existing government inefficiencies and involving the private sector will not automatically ensure that parents will want their children to take up vocational education. It is dangerous to discount the very deep-rooted stigma associated with vocational training. It is common perception amongst parents and students that going for any sort of vocational or skills-based training would lead to eventual employment (if at all) in a 'blue collar' job, which is considered less respectable. Also, vocational education is perceived as a dead-end, with no existing linkages to the formal higher education system.

Given these challenges, the critical message to get across is that not everyone should (as opposed to can) become an engineer, MBA, lawyer or a doctor. It is only by demonstrating that vocational education allows people to improve their livelihoods by getting jobs they desire that this mindset can be shifted.

At this stage, as the next new wave of vocational education and training approaches us, we need to ensure that we do not repeat mistakes from the past. This is all the more critical as the Government is planning to invest significant resources to scale up VET in India. It is critical that we step back and ask ourselves what key principles policy makers have to keep in mind while developing a model for the "perfect" institute for vocational education, which will be able to deal with both demand and supply hurdles faced by skills-based training today.

The Golden Rules for policy-makers
Vocational education has evolved over the last few decades in other countries, and their experiences are extremely valuable resources for our policy makers. The "golden rules" that a system of vocational education should follow are:

Institutions should be able to understand and evolve alongside industry needs, through a dynamic structure and deep involvement of industry practitioners in institution design and function.

Institutions should avoid narrow focus on just one skill, by equipping students with generic skills such as problem-solving, basic computer literacy, language and communication skills to make them employable.

Institutions should incorporate motivation into criteria for admission, as opposed to using purely academic benchmarks.

Components of general education within vocational education should be established, and institutions should have links with traditional higher education institutions.

The policy making process for vocational education should be streamlined, with transparent accountable mandates established for various supervisory entities.

Accreditation bodies should be publicly accountable and monitored on a regular basis.

Vocational education has evolved along different paths in different countries. For instance, Germany and Switzerland are amongst the best known for the close and successful involvement of governments and policy makers in developing a high quality system of training.

In Switzerland, over two-thirds of the young population goes in for vocational education, which is a mission shouldered jointly and transparently by the following entities: (a) Confederation (at the 'federal' level) - responsible for strategic management and development; (b) Cantons (at the 'state' level) - responsible for implementation and supervision; and (c) professional organisations - responsible for curricula and apprenticeships.

There is a national framework that is transparent and intuitive, in place for evaluation of quality, and there are well established linkages with industry and general higher education. VET follows a dual-track approach to learning, with students attending courses at vocational schools and developing practical skills by doing an apprenticeship at a host company.

Vocational education in Japan on the other hand, is mostly run by the private sector and boasts of some of the most innovative and responsive vocational training institutes. They offer some very compelling case-studies on the critical need for institutions to be able to evolve to meet the requirements of the economic landscape. Their focus has continually shifted in response to Japan's changing output profile. This was made possible by very strong linkages with industry, with courses on offer being dictated by societal needs coming from industry.

Also, motivation of the students is the sole basis for admission into several of these colleges, not academic ability. They accept all those who are motivated, and whenever the capacity is filled they close applications. Their teaching staff is learning constantly, and there is a healthy turnover in staff that often goes back to industry.

The advantages of a practitioner faculty are being widely recognized even outside the space of vocational education. A general higher education giant like the University of Phoenix subscribes almost completely to this model. Their faculty primarily comprises of industry practitioners who hold regular industry jobs and teach on a part-time basis. This model has generated shock-waves throughout the US since it goes against the traditional "knowledge-based" structure of higher education. However, the model has been a huge success where few can argue with the results as they are observed in placement statistics as well as the average quality of students.

Needed: A symbiotic relationship
The challenge for Indian policy makers is to ensure that both the supply-side players i.e. the government and the private sector, enter into a symbiotic relationship to battle the perception issue plaguing the demand for vocational education. They need to work with each other to create impact on a large-scale to plug the massive human resource gap. The government has the advantage of existing infrastructure, credibility and scale, whereas the private sector is innovative, dynamic with strong links to the industry space. At the same time, industry is recognizing the importance of having skilled workers and is coming forward to actively involve itself - we can see this in the form of several industries adopting ITIs and the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) entering into a partnership with corporate organizations such as IndiaCan.

There is no denying that the task ahead is daunting. Unsurprisingly, the single biggest source of hope lies in the youth. I recently visited Radaur, a village in Haryana with a population of under 15,000 people. The wide range of students, from Class 10 students to MBAs, were for the most part from modest backgrounds, with parents employed as sweepers, drivers and small shop owners. However, their motivation and hunger to succeed was evident, as was the recognition that in order to get employment they need to be equipped with not just a degree but with employable skills - trade based and soft.

This village is not unique in its youth desiring to "make it big." Dr. K L Johar, former Vice-Chancellor of a university in Haryana said to me, "the concept of participatory management is a panacea for educators, educational planners and administrators." Going by the same spirit, let us not just point fingers at our policy makers - they have a big responsibility, but ours is no less important. We can get the job done, together."

Can Technology Help Solve India’s Education Problems?

In the mid-1980s, semiconductor manufacturer Texas Instruments (TI) spotted India’s potential as a hub for research and development, and heralded a wave of tech multinationals moving into India. A few years ago, it expanded its operations in the country and stared looking at India also as a market for its semiconductor products.

Now, the company has taken a further step: Globally, TI has been in the education technology space for more than two decades, and a few weeks ago, it brought this to India. TI sees India not only as a strong market for its education technology solutions, but also believes that these can help the country to address the constraints it faces in the education sector.

TI has tied up with Indian firm CORE Education and Technologies, which focuses on content creation and teacher education to offer an integrated solution called STEMpower. (STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.) This includes laptops for teachers, networked handheld devices for students, software and content. “Some of the recent reforms in the education sector in India, like the focus on continuous and comprehensive evaluation and formative assessments, have interested TI in bringing our classroom training technology solutions here,’’ says Jagan Chelliah, director of sales and marketing, education technology at TI India. He adds: “Our intention is to refine [these solutions] over time to address the specific needs of the India market.”

During a press event, Sanjeev Mansotra, chairman and global CEO, CORE said: “STEM is about more than just education. It is about our economic future. The viable jobs of the 21st century will require high degrees of STEM literacy, and if our communities don’t have a STEM-literate workforce, those jobs can and will go elsewhere.”

Another technology multinational which recently introduced a new initiative in the Indian education sector is chip-maker Intel. In collaboration with the Karnataka government in September, Intel announced the launch of Computers On Wheels, an e-learning pilot program, in five districts across the state. It is based on the Intel Learning Series and includes infrastructure, hardware, software, content, training and support. The program is designed to deliver one-on-one e-learning in classrooms that is matched to local needs. “Advances in technology continue to transform how we live, work, play and learn. Intel is committed to making education accessible and engaging for all students,” says R. Ravichandran, director of sales, Intel South Asia.

Visvesvara Hegde Kageri, minister for primary and secondary education in the Karnataka government, sees the Intel initiative as a “very useful mechanism to enhance student learning by integrating innovative teaching methods” and by providing “a more engaging, interesting and experiential form of teaching and learning through smart use of technology.”

But how much of a role can technology really play at present in India’s education sector? S. Sadagopan, director at the International Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore, points out that there are four parts to learning — lectures, library, laboratory and life. “Technology plays a critical role in all these,” he says. Sadagopan cities an example from the laboratories: “Frog dissection is completely gone…. Many expensive instruments can be made available to school children in less endowed places through technology.”
But Dilip Ranjekar, co–CEO of the Azim Premji Foundation, which focuses on primary education, offers another perspective.

Technology, Ranjekar says, can play an important role in education but only when the basic infrastructure is place. “In a vast number of schools in India, basic facilities like water, power and sanitation are inadequate. The teacher quality and involvement is also abysmal. These basic issues have to be addressed before there is any scope for technology to create any meaningful impact.”

Reality Check: Education Worth ‘7L To Cost‘ 56L In 15 Years

By Lakshmikant Berde / Mumbai

Start investing early in equity MFs or stocks to save for your child’s higher education as costs are rising at 15% per year. Recently, a doctor in Navi Mumbai had an interesting fact to share. Just a few months ago, he put his daughter in nursery class in one of the better schools in Navi Mumbai and paid about Rs 62,000 for a year’s tuition and other expenses like books, uniform, school bus, etc. Then he calculated that his parents had spent about Rs 60,000 in total for his MBBS and post-graduation medical degrees together. That’s an example of how much the price of education has gone up in India. 
    
There are enough cases which you may hear almost every other day. Some of these examples may be on the higher side, cases of aberration rather than a general trend, but the fact is data show over the last 15-20 years, the cost of education in India has gone up by at an alarming rate of about 14-15% per annum, compared to the general rate of inflation of about 7%. Seen in another way, if a course 15 years ago cost Rs 1 lakh, the same course would cost about eight times that amount – that is around Rs 8 lakh.

By M H Ahssan

During my interaction as a principal with thousands of parents over the years, I have come across conflicting views of guardians on education and their expectations from the school. While some expect their children to continuously keep getting A without bothering about other aspects, there are others who clearly state that they are not worried about the academic performance of their progeny so long as they are happy in school. Some have insisted on the school setting back-breaking homework whereas others have objected vehemently on assigning any work to be done at home. I have experienced the pendulum swing so widely that it becomes virtually impossible to reconcile the two extreme positions.

While a majority have felt that their children should learn good moral values, some have argued that their offspring will not be able to get along smoothly in life if they fully stuck to honest and ethical means. They have further stressed the point that these ideas look good in books and articles but are not meant for practical life. In support of their contention they have given examples of rich and ‘successful’ people saying that they have all attained these ‘visibly’ high positions only through corrupt and devious means. Some have even quoted instances from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata where our mythical heroes have purportedly employed dubious means to achieve their ends. Hence, some parents are not too keen on emphasizing the inculcation of such values in their wards.

During my Principalship of many years I have met highly qualified people who have been utter failures in their lives because of their lopsided personalities while many illiterate persons have been eminently successful. Jesus and Kabir were not literate but the legacy they have left behind endures till date. Although Akbar the Great, the third Emperor of the Mughals was illiterate, he was able to establish a vast empire and was the most successful ruler of the Mughals. Apart from establishing a large collection of literary works, he promoted poetry, art and other finer aspects of life. He commissioned a number of splendid buildings during his regime. He was eminently successful in promoting religious harmony. To me he was an educated person in the true sense. I once had to sack a double gold medalist teacher within three days of his appointment in the school as he behaved like a ‘mad’ man. And it is not a stand alone case: many a time toppers have ended up as floppers!

I wonder then what distinguishes human beings from each other. What makes some of them behave irrationally?

We often misuse the word ‘education’ to mean literacy. In our present day society some even equate fluency in spoken English with being well-educated. A mother once mentioned to me that her daughter would become a ‘Bhenji’ as she was mingling with a girl from not so sophisticated a family even though she was well-behaved with good ‘sanskars’. This belief was so strongly embedded in her that she withdrew her daughter from the school I was heading, then. What a distorted view of education! It is, however, heartening that with democratization and opening of avenues for all categories of society, the situation is changing now. Selection in all sorts of sports teams or top national cultural events or positions in IT sector, all seem to have a far more egalitarian base. There are opportunities for the talented, bright and hard working persons to excel and climb the social ladder.

Education encompasses all aspects of life. It is such a vast and all-inclusive field that it becomes practically impossible to encapsulate its definition in a few paragraphs, let alone in a few bullet points. It can easily be compared to a pie stuffed with different fruits. You can have a bite from anywhere, it will be sweet but taste differently at different places. So with education. Thinkers, eminent educationists, other scholars and political leaders have given their opinion but none is comprehensive enough to include every aspect of education. Therefore, I think it appropriate to represent a few of them here to get a good idea of its dimensions.

Confucious saw learning as a process of observation of the subject matter, be it books, objects or people, followed by reflection, that somehow changed a person.
Aristotle considered Nature, Habit and Reason to be three equally important forces to be cultivated in education.
Rabindra Nath Tagore propagated education that affects unity in all the things present in the context of one’s life. His educational philosophy revolved around naturalism, humanism, inter-nationalism and idealism.
Dr. Radha Krishanan was of the opinion that education should refine the sensibilities of people and bring about grace in life.
Pt. Nehru, although never a professional teacher, worked incessantly and earnestly to awaken people’s mind to widen their mental and spiritual horizons and to broaden their sympathies.
The quintessence of Gandhi’s educational philosophy is to educate children by means of a craft through practical training.
John Dewey believed that students should be involved in real-life tasks and challenges. His emphasis on experiential learning helped promote the progressive education movement.
According to Bertrand Russell, the principal purpose of education should be to promote the development of vitality, courage, sensitivity and intelligence. He believed in students experiencing a sense of intellectual adventure in an atmosphere of open enquiry.
Rousseau held that there was one developmental process for all humans which is intrinsically a natural process, the manifestation of which is curiosity. He advocated that children should learn from their surroun¬dings so as to grow into virtuous adults.
Wonder, connected with a principle of rational curiosity, is the source of all knowledge and discovery. - Samuel Horsley
Aurobindo, Maulana Azad, Dr. Zakir Hussain, John Stuart Mill, and many more have expressed their views but no two definitions match! It actually depends upon one’s philosophy of life, one’s belief system, one’s ideals and hence different expectations.

Our present society mainly recognizes and rewards only academic achievement which in turn is based on collecting information without understanding its meaning and value. There is no emphasis on processing or drawing inferences from the information so acquired. In such a scenario the typical student is challenged for bookish information but motivationally starved. Knowledge per se is of no use: it is like a dictionary where words have no value but what matters is how we string them together to make it meaningful. Similarly, if the information is not processed properly or utilised in drawing conclusion, it will remain inside us to rot like undigested food. In the present system of education the measuring tool is the written test. Those who don’t have the ability to put their thoughts on paper are labelled as failures. And according to this testing criterion other skills do not count. We should remember the fact that whatever is exercised grows stronger and whatever is ignored stays dormant. Therefore, by and large, in today’s India, other qualities of people are being left in the closet.

Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and many more super-achievers never finished their schooling. The secret of success of such people and many self-made millionaires is vision, research, application of intuitive knowledge and processing of collected information for a chosen project and finally finding a workable solution. They did not depend on pre-stored knowledge as our present education system emphasizes. This system does not allow the genius of such persons to bloom.

The existing system of education encourages students to pass an exam where stereotype questions are set and standard answers are expected. This encourages memorization without motivating or inspiring the learner. Learning by rote turns off the desire to learn. The pitiable condition of a learner in India is beautifully captured in the following poem composed by a student.

“We read, we write, we calculate
Got no choice but to participate,
Of heroes we learn old and new.
Some inspire us in many ways, some one or two.
Do I follow my dream or do I follow the crowd?
Do I follow with silent patience, or speak out loud?
Do I laugh or do I cry?
Do I walk or should I fly?
Do I stand out and ask them why?
Or should I just shut up and comply?”

The aim of education should be to develop a life-long love for learning. To achieve this we will have to stop the assembly-line mass production as our schools do, casting everybody in the same mould. G.B. Shaw resented it and expressed his anguish thus, “the only time my education was interrupted was when I was in school.” Quality education should be custom-designed that addresses the unique abilities of individuals and provides a positive emotional experience. The real goal of education is not necessarily the mastery of the subject matter, but mastery of one’s person. The methodology of teaching the courses these days tends to induce passivity. It is a matter of common observation that children come to school with spontaneity, insatiable curiosity and imagination. These diminish as they proceed through their classes. In fact actual learning takes place when the learner is active and fully involved. Therefore, lessons should involve activities that are intended to stimulate thinking or promote experiential learning. If a car driving school instructor were to first give theory lessons on the working of the engine, the battery, the axle, the body of the vehicle, the learner would never be able to drive the car. But, in actual fact it takes only 3-4 days for a person to be able to drive as he does it practically. ‘Minds on’ is not sufficient: with ‘Hands on’ one learns faster.

We are not able to plug directly into another person’s brain: we can never educate directly, but certainly we can encourage learning indirectly by means of creating a conducive environment. Teaching which induces a slave mentality or a sense of impotency is not education at all—it is an attack on the minds of human beings. Mark Twain said, “My mother wanted me to have fine education: so she got me kicked out of school”. Education should aim at empowering and definitely not on enslaving. Many years ago on my visit to Frankfurt I happened to see a steel sculpture of a man with a hammer in his hand which in turn was moving continuously from head to heart and back. I am not sure what the sculptor had thought when he made it but the idea immediately came to my mind that education should aim at training the head, the heart and the hand (3Hs) – intellectual development, compassion and concern for others and learning by doing. Genuine under¬standing comes from hands-on experience. The hammer also reinforces the dignity of labour – that no work is mean if done in the right spirit. In my opinion if education has to provide a solid bedrock for us to lead fulfilling lives the following qualities must take firm roots in us through it.

Values
Activites & Fitness
Refinement & Spirituality
Environment, Wealth, Nature, Anger
Responsibility & Discipline

Skills Development for Higher Education

At a  juncture when the percentage of employers facing difficulty in finding skilled workforce is as high as 81per cent in Japan, 71 per cent in Brazil, 49 per cent in US, 48 per cent in India and 42 per cent in Germany, one wonders what is it that we are turning out from our universities and colleges. Even for India- the youngest country in the world, if the percentage is 48 per cent, it is an alarming situation, to put it mildly, because it means that half of our companies and businesses are finding it difficult to run their daily operations due to the lack of skilled workforce. 

India has the largest number of young people (age group of 14-25) and the highest global unemployment rate- these are pointers to the nature and efficiency of our education system. Against this, the job market is increasingly being redefined by specific skills. Nobody runs businesses and companies the way people did, let’s say, 20 years back. The entire skills set required to work in a company that competes at the global level has undergone change, and education, particularly Higher Education, cannot afford to overlook the new realities of the 2^nd decade of the 21^st century.  

Across the world, skills development has been addressed with considerable seriousness. Sample this, according to figures of 2008, the percentage of workforce receiving skills training is 96 per cent in Korea, 80 per cent in Japan, 75 per cent in Germany, 68 per cent in UK and 10 per cent in India. Moreover, it is estimated that 75 per cent of the new job opportunities to be created in India will be skill-based. While the skills set has changed and employers look more and more for 21st century skills in the job seekers, it is required to take a close look at the academic nature of our curricula and their mode of transaction. It is not that we do not have enough degree holders in the country; we have a number of them but the world of business and industry thinks that they are not employable. Surveys and studies are conducted at regular intervals and it is reiterated in the surveys and studies that 80per cent workforce in rural and urban India does not possess any identifiable marketable skills.

Against the oft-quoted figure of 500 million skilled workforce required in India by 2022, sample this:

“Of late, employability of graduates coming out of our educational system is becoming a matter of great concern. I am told, only 25per cent of the general graduates across all streams have employable skills.” E Ahamed (Minister of State for HRD and External Affairs)

Let’s face it, we are not Finland that has more than 40per cent of its population going into vocational education. Compared to vocational education, our students are found pursuing degrees in colleges and universities of higher education. One cannot change that fact, all one can do is to turn this into an opportunity, turn universities and colleges into skills development hubs.

Leaders of business and industry in India have regularly voiced their concern over the lack of skilled manpower ready to be absorbed in various sectors. We have the government intervening by establishing National Skills Development Council (NSDC) and several other skills development initiatives in the pipeline but unless our Higher Education wakes up to this and responds proactively, the youths coming out of it would find it hard to claim a place in the world, and thus the growth of this country will also remain under threat because without the requisite human resource the magic growth is impossible.

In a country where there is a large dropout rate of children quitting school at young age and a minimal percentage going into higher studies, do we have more choice than tapping into this small percentage by upskilling them in order to render them readily employable? In sync with this, S Ramadorai, Advisor to the Prime Minister in National Skill Development Council, says,

“60per cent of India’s 1.2 billion people are in the working age group. However, only 10per cent of the 300 million children in India between the age of 6 and 16 will pass school and go beyond. Only 5per cent of India’s labor force in the age group 19-24 years is estimated to have acquired formal training. Despite this, our economy is clocking an 8.5per cent growth. Imagine what could be if we could leverage our demographic dividend fully.”

Let’s also understand that in a large country like India, only government agencies and system cannot accomplish this task of upskilling the youth. Private companies with requisite experience in skills training may also be roped in to expedite the process of enhancing the skills development of youth in colleges and universities. In today’s world, particularly in India, the future and relevance of Higher Education is inextricably linked with Skills Development; the earlier Higher Education accepts this and acts accordingly, the better it is for the country and its growth. Skills Development is not an additional course that can be added to a university curriculum but it requires to be integrated into the training and education of a youth who will have to be readily employable and competent enough to run the operations of a company or business in India. A youth seeking job in the market today is expected to have salient life and soft skills which he has no clue about till s/he faces an interview. Higher Education does little to address the skills requirement of a youth raring to go into the world and make a mark. To make it amply clear as to how Higher Education has got to address the issue of skills development and employability, no better evidence than what Planning Commission’s Approach Paper to the Twelfth Five Year Plan says:

“There is a need for a clear focus on improving the employability of graduates. Indian higher education is organized into ‘General’ and ‘Professional’ streams. General education which is an excellent foundation for successful knowledge based careers, often fails to equip graduates with necessary work skills due to its poor quality. Graduates now require the skills beyond the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic (the ‘3Rs’).  Skills such as critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity (the ‘4Cs’) are now important in more and more jobs. Accordingly, there is need to focus on the ‘4Cs’. Special emphasis on verbal and written communication skills, especially in English would go a long way in improving the employability of the large and growing mass of disempowered youth.” (101)

In simple translation, it means that Higher Education in India cannot live on an ivory tower any more. It has to reconsider its role in the growth and development of the country. Unlike the days of yore, now it should ensure that students studying in colleges and universities are equipped with soft skills such as communication proficiency. Unlike the existing model of university education, skills development may be integrated into the core practices of a university.

Policy papers in India are beginning to show their commitment to skills development and employability through it but that is not enough either. The true reflection of their commitment would be when they make it mandatory to establish Skills Development Centres at university and college campuses and provide specific funds for the same. These Centres should be endowed with the task of training each and every student of the college and university in terms of soft skills and life skills and prepare them for the jobs they dream of. Ideally, in a perfect India of hopefully some not-so-distant future, universities should buzz with skills training and the youths coming out of universities should show us the way forward. Ideally, a youth completing his/her education should not hunt for the job; in fact, the employers should come to the doorsteps of the university and look for these skilled youths. Is Higher Education ready for this? This is the key question because the answer will determine the future of this country.

Does Indian higher education system need an Ombudsman?

In the beginning of 2012 the former Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Kapil Sibal had initiated a debate by mooting the idea for appointment of Ombudsman for higher education institutions under the grievance redressal system. The Ministry passed executive order for the centrally funded institutions which includes central universities, IITs, IIMs and NITs, and deemed universities. As per the order every institution is required to have an ombudsman – a person with judicial or legal experience.

The Ombudsman will have the power to instruct the institution to take corrective measures on complaints of students regarding denial of admission, non-observance of declared merit in admission, with-holding of documents and non-refund of fees in case of withdrawal of admission. Few months back former Minister of state for HRD, D. Purandeswari in Rajya Sabha answering to the question of appointment of Ombudsman has stated that, “University Grants Commission, All India Council for Technical Education and National Council for Teacher Education have been requested to establish a grievance redressal mechanism for students and applicants for admission in higher educational institutions under their regulatory control. This mechanism includes appointment of Ombudsman also for redressal of students’ grievances.” 

Though, the order was passed by the Ministry it is still to get Parliament approval and thus has not been implemented on ground. India Education Review discussed the issue with some of the heads of institutions on the need for an Ombudsman and his role. 

Need for an Ombudsman: The need for an Ombudsman is being felt for the higher education system in India is because of its tremendous growth in terms of number of institutions just to increase the gross enrolment ratio. In doing this we forgot about quality, relevance and excellence and this lead to massive commercialisation of education which has lead to a scenario in which anybody with money can buy degrees while those with talent and qualification have to run from one institution to other to get admission.

Prof. PB Sharma, Vice Chancellor, Delhi Technological University talking to India Education Review said, “The purpose of education is not merely to award the degrees but to create an army of capable men and women who shall possess besides capabilities, human values for development of the society. This noble objective requires that the institutions and universities should be established and managed by people of letters and of high moral and ethical wisdom. It is expected of them to desist from any deviation from ethical and moral foundation of education, no matter how compelling the circumstances or situations may be, but we find the just opposite in most cases.”

“Institutions and universities especially under the disguise of public-private partnership or under private ownership have been allowed to be set-up by those who could muster financial and political support. This has created the present unhealthy and unfair environment in higher education in the country. We all know very well that once we allow the rot to set in, it creates an environment for mediocrity to flourish. We can have an Ombudsman provided we are able to specify the domains and duties to the Ombudsman for his exercise of controls, even preventive measures to stop the growth of mediocrity and establishment of sub-standard institutions,” added Prof. Sharma.

There are many government run institutions that are against the idea of appointment of Ombudsman over themselves as they feel that they have very transparent system and they feel that it is needed in case of private institutions. They also feel that central government of any of its agencies will not be able to frame rules and guidelines for it as different institutions have their own issues, history and serving different segment of society.

Dr. MM Salunkhe, Vice Chancellor, Central University of Rajasthan is of the view that, “the topic has not been debated properly and there is need to debate upon it in detail as it is a very wide topic. As far as government run universities are concerned, particularly the central universities we follow a very transparent system at each and every step. Ombudsman is required for private institutions as they flout and twist the norms. The other problem is who will make the rules and define the role of Ombudsman because every university is different and unique in itself and what rule will be good mine will not be good for some other universities. Thus, I am not very much in favour of this post for the universities until the role of Ombudsman is clearly defined.” 

Whom to appoint? There is also huge debate on the topic that who should appointed to this post as a section of educationist feel that the person to be appointed for the post should be from education fraternity as any outsider will not have the understanding of the huge education system that India has. While the other section feels that the person should be from judicial background as he would be less biased with least vested interest. The concern of both the section is genuine and but the ministry has chosen the second option to appoint a person with judicial or legal background. The institute would have to appoint him from a panel suggested by the affiliating university in case of technical and management institutions and the Central Government in case of deemed universities.

According to Prof. PB Sharma “The man of iron will with the highest credentials of scholarship, administrative capabilities, a vision and commitment to build quality higher education for his motherland. He should also understand that it has not mere teaching or coaching that makes higher education, rather an environment in which education, creative and innovative abilities and opportunities to recognize the value and worth of knowledge and capabilities, technology and knowledge incubation, innovations and new-product development are nurtured is that what should make higher education of today and surely of tomorrow.”

“The tenure of an Ombudsman should be of five years to give him a reasonable time frame to implement the reforms or changes as envisaged. Such an Ombudsman be invariably be appointed by a coliseum comprising of a former Chief Justice of India, an Outstanding present or former Vice Chancellor, an outstanding Civil Servant and an outstanding industrialist,” Prof. Sharma added further.

Prof. R. Lalthanluanga, Vice Chancellor, Mizoram University, is of the view that, “as far as ombudsman is concerned, I do not think that there is any need for government run higher educational institutions like central universities etc. which are self regulated through its ordinances/regulations as per the guidelines of UGC (University Grants Commission) or MHRD. It may be required for private institutions as they do not have very clearly defined regulation. UGC may appoint Ombudsman for such institutions for a period of three years.”

It seems that the Ombudsman is the need of the hour for the vast education system that India has and with arrival of foreign institutions it is even more required. It will only make the Indian institutions rise up to the occasion. The checks and balances and fine tuning can be done by the institutions at their own level along with following the guidelines of MHRD. Ombudsman is seen as a system for grievance redressal of the students while there are provisions in the already existing system it can be further strengthened to make it more transparent. People against this move also feel that one redressal system will lead to another making it a vicious cycle.

Six Major Changes In 'Higher Education' Makes India 'Knowledge Based Economy' Power House On World Map!

Learning how to learn, initiative, communication, teamwork and solution seeking are key to helping one form the basics.

Higher education in India continues to muddle its way through its identity crisis. Neither a specialist in teaching for skills, employability or even global citizenship, nor a flag bearer for advancement of higher order knowledge, it stands stymied. It’s dismal rankings on the world table stand testament year after year not to its mediocrity but to the unwillingness or inability to change itself.

Quality of Management Education in rural India: Problems & Perspectives

This paper deals with India’s need for management professionals in various socio- economic pockets in rural region. AICTE is trying to bring in quality benchmarking in all the B- Schools in India setting up minimum norms and standards for B- schools.

The minimum norms and standards are unachievable for many of the B-Schools functioning in rural India. Can we question the running of these schools that are producing management graduates, primarily for various small and medium scale organizations in rural India? Should we close them down pointing towards minimum infrastructure norms and standards set by AICTE without considering Socio-economic and academic constraints faced by them?

The main issues covered in the paper are related to the need for managerial inputs in rural India and role of small B-Schools catering those needs. While doing so, various issues faced by them.

Keywords: Rural region, Economic pockets, Role of small B-Schools, Quality benchmarking, Socio-economic
and academic constraints

1. Introduction
In the process of globalization, management education in India is playing key role in coping up with the rapid changes taking place in all types of business activities. The focus is on maintaining good quality of education in thousand plus B schools in India. These institutes are operating in almost all corners of the country. They are varied in nature, size and structure. The variation is because of variety of socio-economic factors influencing working of these schools. These institutes are broadly classified into three categories based on locations and socio-economic circumstances. ‘A’ category includes institutes in big metro cities. ‘B’ category covers institutes in next larger cities and ‘C’ category are mostly urban, semi urban and rural institutes.

Presently quality parameters for all the institutes in India are uniformly set. Quality expectations from Industry, controlling bodies are similar or same for all the institutes without considering variations in socio-economic status of the region in which these institutes are functioning.

Regional Institutes are trying to conform in this race with quality norms set by quality controlling authorities. Quality is perceived differently at different places. The basic expectation from quality is, it must satisfy the needs of the stakeholders. These needs can be different at different socio-economic zones of the country. Setting same or similar parameters for all the B-schools in India may do injustice to the institutes functioning in rural area. It is relevant to study quality parameters to be set for regional institutes taking into consideration the socio-economic and academic constraints.

Regional Institutes have to face various challenges to survive in this era. Every Institute has same stakeholders but their demands differ as per their Socio-economic background. And the Socio- economic status of the rural area is quite low as compared to the metros or big cities. So this is the basic difference between these big cities or Metros and rural Institutes. In the further part we discuss the challenges & pressures on the regional Institutes.

The regional institutes are to cater regional needs. The significant task is to identify management education needs and take necessary steps to fulfill the needs ensuring appropriate quality of management education. B-Schools in rural India need to focus their efforts on these tasks.

2. Objectives of Research

2.1 To identify management education needs in various socio-economic pockets in rural region.
2.2 To understand nature of the problems of B-schools in rural India
2.3 To study the role of rural B-schools in addressing management education needs in rural region.

3. Methodology
Management Institutes in Shivaji University region are the main source of information for research. Directors, teachers and students are the source of primary data, whereas office record is the source of information regarding socioeconomic background and placement information. Small and medium scale entrepreneurs are also taken into consideration to identify their specific needs for managerial inputs. Other sources are people working in NGOs, local govt., agriculture and agro-based industries and service sector

4. Hypothesis

1. The present norms and standards set by AICTE are not appropriate for rural B-schools. Control exercises are redesigned considering socio-economic and academic constraints.

2. MOUs with other privileged B-schools will help in reducing problems of B-schools in rural India as well as create better awareness of the opportunities and potential in rural India among privileged schools.

5. Review of Literature:

“Education is the great Instrument of social emancipation by which a democracy establishes, maintains and protects the spirit of equality among its members” these are the views of Radhakrishan commission (1948-49). All great people & educationists like Mahatma Gandhi, Karmveer Bhaurao Patil, Mahatma Phule, Shahu Chhatrapati, Kolhapur, G.K. Gokhale, Vinoba Bhave etc. have said that education is the medicine to all the ills of Indian rural society.

Bhaurao’s educational experiments were meant to solve the difficulties confronting the rural society. He said, a man is gifted with Native Intelligence & with or without moderate formal education can also give a coherent, if not, a systematic philosophy of his own life.

Advocate Bartakke found that after Industrial revolution young people started leaving the villages for cities in spite of the danger of unemployment. He noted that slogan ‘Back to villages’ should be changed to ‘stay in villages’. He suggested that, for village industries & villages to be self –dependent, he advised the village traders to form co-operative societies and learn modern techniques of trading. He expected that education should teach them better life, better farming, better seeds, better marketing and no thirst for city life. But the education was to the contrary at that time.

In today’s global era too these philosophy hold true. Regional Institute has to play a pivotal role to develop the region by providing appropriate knowledge to the students so that they can stay in villages and apply all their managerial skills for the and others better life, better trading & better marketing.

Mahatma Gandhi was also of the same opinion, that education should be self-supporting. Education means an all - round drawing out of the best in human- body, mind & spirit. The highest development of the mind and the soul is possible under a system of education. ‘Making revolutionary changes in education system and giving practical knowledge/ life skills and through educating them’ this was the principle of Mahatma Gandhi. He was of the opinion that, college education should be related to the National necessities. Education for life: Without the use of our hands & feet, our brains would be atrophied and even if it worked it would be the home of Satan. Tolstoy was of the same opinion. The youth/student have to be the true representatives of our culture & civilization, they are the true genius of our nation and this education should be based on non- violence & without exploitation of the student. True learning can be imparted only through doing. Gandhiji’s idea was not only to teach a profession or occupation but to develop the full man through teaching that occupation.

In this way, we see it is very essential and can be possible to develop the rural areas through the students by teaching them the culture, industrial scenario of that region as well the global opportunities and threats so that they can apply their managerial skills to make the rural/ regional industry competent.

6. Research

6. 1 Management education needs in rural India.

In India, so far, management education is confined to corporate sector only. The corporate and business sector is largely benefited by professional management education imparted by various B-schools in India.

It has been observed that the rural economy has not been on the agenda of business education endeavor in India.

It is also pointed out by the committee appointed by AICTE in 2003 that there is a need to increase the focus of management education on the neglected sectors such as co-operatives, forestry, urban management, infrastructure, rural development, education and legal system.

Now there is a need to identify specific needs of these neglected sectors that are quite different from management education needs of corporate sector.


Sector Basic Management education (ME) needs Specific needs
1. Agriculture ME level 1 Government schemes for agriculture development.
Agro- marketing; domestic and foreign.
Micro financing, farm accounting etc.
2. Agro- based Industries (including co-operatives) ME level 1
ME level 2 Value addition management, agro- based industries profile, industry specific marketing and other functional requirements, related legal aspects.
3. NGOs ME level 1 Sociology, political science, micro and macro social environment, national and international schemes for poverty alleviation, management of non- profit organization.
4.Local Governments ME Level 1 Civics, sociology, social sensitivity, public administration, public financing, social values and ethics.
5. Education ME Level 1 Psychology, school administration, educational policies, educational finances, educational values.
6. Services (hospitals, regional banking, transportation etc.) ME Level 1 Services marketing, financing, professional service management, service organization and deign, service blue printing.

Most of the rural B- schools are engaged in following curriculum recommended by AICTE and universities, which is by and large based on the needs of corporate sectors. Seldom the local and regional needs are taken into consideration while designing syllabi.

Most of the students passing out from rural B-schools opt for the jobs in the corporate world leaving regional needs unfulfilled. If we look at the executive work force mix engaged in all above neglected sectors we find very few professionally trained managers who have obtained management degree. As students from regional B-schools prefer working in big cities and corporate, subsequent to this there is non- availability of management talent in rural area. This results into lack of competitiveness and lower profits in these sectors. Consequently, these sectors are unable to offer better or attractive pay package to attract and retain deserving management educated people. Thus vicious circle continues.

Rural B- schools have required ability to begin the process of professionalism in the neglected sectors. They can be used as vehicle for social and economic transformation in the rural region.

6.2. Problems and Perspective of Rural B-schools

6.2.1 Table No. 1 B-schools in India and deployment of their students in industry

Grades of Cities No.of Institutes
A 237
B 82
C 373

A: Cities : Mumbai, Kolkota, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Kanpur, Banglore, Pune, Hyderabad,
B: Cities : Bhopal, Madurai, Coimbatore, Nagpur, Indore, Patna, Jaipur, Surat, Kochi, Vadodara, Lucknow, Vishakhapatnam, Varanasi, Ludhinia, etc.
C Cities : Remaining cities

Institutes Industries
A - Metro Institutes X - Large scale, MNCs & leading industries
B - Big-city Institutes Y - Medium scale industries
C - Regional institutes Z - Regional Industries

If we analyze this we normally find that, students in ‘A’ Institutes would prefer to go in ‘X’ type of industries, they find it suitable for themselves and the institutes are making efforts to cater the needs of these industries only. Very few students come in the ‘Y’ or ‘Z’ industries. Even if by chance they come down, all the time they are making efforts to go up.

Students in ‘B’ type of institutes have more scope as compared to ‘A’. Students as well as the institutes are making efforts to cater the needs of ‘X’ type of industries. 50% of the students of ‘B’ type institutes are able to cater the needs of ‘X’ type industry and the remaining are absorbed in ‘Y’ type industry. These students have scope in ‘Z’ type of industry also but they are not interested to go down and institutes also don’t like it.

Students in ‘C’ type of institutes have maximum scope in all X, Y, and Z kinds of industries. And the regional institutes are trying to develop appropriate quality students who can cater the needs of all kinds of industries. Here 10% of the students are absorbed in ‘X’ type of industry, 30% of them cater the needs of ‘Y’ type of industry and the remaining 60% are by and large deployed in the regional industries.

It has been observed that a few students from ‘C’ institutes can fit in ‘X’ and ‘Y’ type of industries, but the students from ‘A’ institute do not fit in ‘Z’ type industry. They are neither interested nor find themselves suitable for the environment of regional industries.

From the above discussion it becomes clear that ‘C’ type of institutes should try to concentrate on the regional development which is required to bring in balanced development in rural region.

6.2.2 Quality of students and their socio-economic background:

State Govt. has adopted 70+15+15 pattern for admission 70% from local university, 15% from other universities in the state and 15% students from out of the state.

Since out of state students and other university students are interested in ‘A’ or ‘B’ type Institutes, the profile of students in ‘C’ type, rural institutes remains by and large rural.

Due to less exposure, conventional teaching methodology till undergraduate level, the quality of students is much different from the students in metros.

These institutes need to make intensive efforts to bring these students to the minimum level which makes them eligible for management education i.e. language, minimum communication skills and orientation for active learning expected in management education.

If we look at their performance in admission entrance test, we find following composition:

15% of the candidates are within the range of 55-75 out of 200 marks
65% of the candidates are within the range of 75-100 ,
15% of the candidates are within the range of 100-125,
05% of the candidates are above 125

Students from Semi urban and Rural India are by and large introvert, shy and passive. This may be attributed to the social characteristics of the region. Though many of them are from non- agrarian family background. They have less exposure to the industrial environment where the above qualities are undesirable. The transition of agrarian society to industrial society is still in the process.

B-schools in rural area have to fight with the preconceived ideas of the students emerged out of their inferiority complex and no close interface with corporate environment.
Few guest lectures, industrial visits and library work, debates take them to a limited extent to come out of inferiority complex..

The insistence of AICTE on one or two common admission tests will deprive majority of rural students from availing management education.

6.2.3 Teaching Methodology:

Till graduation all over India the lecture method is used to a large extent, for almost 15 years student are associated with this methodology. This brings in ‘class room syndrome’ among the students where students knowingly or unknowingly are made passive in learning.

Any change in methodology i.e. Case studies, Business Games, Debates, Seminars make them uncomfortable in the initial stages. At the same time the faculty is also drawn from the same background. They are accustomed to lecture method.

Efforts made to introduce new pedagogy other than lecturing may help these students to be an active learner.

6.2.4. Institute Finances:

The major constraint for the B-schools in rural region is to raise finances for running these schools effectively.

As long as these schools were controlled by Universities in the region, the norms were set by the universities in tune with economic conditions of the region and Institutes’ fund raising capacity.
The paying capacity of the students in the rural area is comparatively lower than that of the students from metros and large cities.

Institutes finances are mainly dependent on the fees from the students in the region. Other sources like research and consultancy have no scope or very little scope to generate funds to support these B-schools.

Since AICTE has intervened in the setting up of minimum norms for all the B-schools in India, rural B-schools are in a fix and their survival is at the stake. They neither get any aid from the Govt. nor can raise required funds through fees to meet the norms set by AICTE.

Appointing faculty as per AICTE norms i.e. 1: 15 teacher student ratio is much more higher than the normal teacher student ratio in grantable undergraduate programmes conducted in the rural region.
Same is the case with infrastructure. The building space required to run MBA programme is per student 100 sq. mtr. This is far beyond the reach of financial capacity of rural B-schools.

The basic assumption to set up certain infrastructure norms and teaching norms is, even rural institutes also can raise sufficient funds to comply these conditions. The assumption does not take into consideration the low economic conditions in rural India.

6.2.5. Controlling Bodies : Role and Pressures

Following are the factors influencing functioning of rural B-schools.
Controlling Bodies Assumptions Facts/Implications on
Rural B-schools
AICTE Demand for management education is more than the supply hence elimination based admission process is required In rural area, demand is
Less than supply, in recent years many seats remained vacant after admission process
Sources of income are many. B-schools can raise funds from fees, research consultancy , MDPs etc. Students come from economically underprivileged, social class, paying capacity is low. No scope for remunerative, research and consultancy
University B-schools are making profits Affiliation and other fees are higher compared to other PG/ UG programme.

State Govt. (DTE) Demand for management education is more than the supply hence elimination based admission process is required Too many admission rules most of them are inapplicable as number of seats are vacant.
Fees controlling authority (SSS) B- schools will charge heavy fees if not controlled Considering economic conditions of the students exorbitant fees cannot be charged.

Parent Society B-schools are surplus making units Reluctance to give financial assistance, on the contrary reverse expectation.
Student community Having a degree in management will bring top corporate placement Struggle hard in initial period and lands up sometimes at lower level management cadre in MNCs.

6.3. New role of Rural B-schools

Minimum AICTE norms and conditions are applicable to all the management institutes in India. The institutes falling short in any respect are seriously being warned to fulfill the conditions or close down. This is practically impossible for various regional B-schools in India. Even many B-schools in ‘B’ cities do not adhere to the minimum norms and conditions. Hence, it is essential to set different quality norms considering different socio-economic pockets and different roles played by different types of institutes.

The present role of B-school in rural India is like follower who is dragged behind the system framed to address the needs of the corporate sector. There is a vast difference in socio-economic status of rural India and urban India. Instead of forcing rural B-schools to follow the present quality benching set for primer B-schools and B- schools in urban area, who are mainly catering needs of corporate world, they should be considered differently. They should be given an opportunity to use their strength appropriately for solving the problems of neglected sector in rural region by imparting relevant and customized management education.

In addition to the present academic programmes conducted by these schools, the system should by evolve to integrate them with the regional needs of management education. Most of the neglected sectors do not follow basics of professional management. They have survived per-liberalization period only because protective policies of the government. They were wards of the state. In post-liberalization era due to competition and complexities in running in odds most of them are on the past of death. As seen earlier the managerial expertise can only help these businesses regenerate or survive. This expertise can be made available by strengthening regional B-schools.

7. Recommendations

Following measures can be taken to strengthen the rural B-Schools

1. AICTE should pay attention to the problems of rural B-schools by appointing advisory committee consisting of experts form rural region. This committee will take into consideration the management education needs in the rural region and set norms for rural B-schools. It can also consider delegation of controlling authorities to the universities in the region. Universities can understand the regional educational needs better.

2. There is a need for integration of government initiative for rural development and role of rural B- schools. Some schemes can be routed through these schools.

3. MOUs between premier B-schools and rural B-schools can be made which usher in following benefits:

A. Enhancement of quality of rural B-schools through designing -

1. MDPs for neglected sectors
2. Conducting research for rural development.
3. Faculty development and curriculum development.

B. Premier schools will understand the untapped opportunities and potential of rural India. Thus MOU will bring in ultimately the balanced regional development by collective efforts in improving quality management practice in neglected sector.

4. MNCs and large corporation can look into the opportunities and potential in rural region and extent their outreach activities taking rural B-schools with them. this will strengthen B-schools financially at the same time they can expand their market

5. As per the report published by NCAER, out of 6,38,667 villages only 1,00,000 villages are commercially tapped by HLL, one of the leading MNCs to tap Indian rural potential. This shows that a there is a considerable drench which can be filled by efforts of MNCs in co-ordination with regional B-schools.

6. As rightly mentioned by C.K.Prahalad in his best seller, ‘The fortune at the bottom of the pyramid’, that it is not possible for MNCs to frame strategy for serving market that lies below the pyramid by sitting at the headquarters. In order to understand the characteristics of these markets they need to have strategic alliance with NGOs, universities and educational institutions. This thought expressed in the book supports our stand that B-schools can play a pivotal role in representing the fortune that lies below the pyramid.