The Hindu Business Line : Opening the doors of learning wider

The apex court’s
ruling providing for 27 per cent quota for OBCs in Central educational institutions is a welcome move. Here are some suggestions for easier implementation.

N.S. Ramaswamy

At last, the Supreme Court has given the judgement that 27 per cent quota for OBCs in Central educational institutions should be implemented. The six IIMs admit about 1,500 students per year, i.e. roughly 250 students per institute.

Each IIM should now admit 60 OBCs. If they do not wish to cut into the existing structure of admission, they should add one more class of about 60 students. This can be easily done. Students and additional faculty required can stay in buildings close by, to be hired by the Institute.

As regards classrooms, the institutes should work for longer hours, say from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. and/or work longer number of days from the present 200. Many Universities in the world function from early morning till late in the night and for more number of days a year.

Also, in many Universities, more students and faculty stay outside the campus. In fact, there is even a view that faculty and students of management institutes should stay off campus, as that could also be an experience in managing environmental problems.

Scholarships, loans

IIMs and IITs have already increased fees to recover the cost per student per year. The OBC students can be given scholarships, which can be subsidised by the Government. Every student admitted gets a long-term loan. At present, the lower one-third gets the salary of about Rs 8 lakh per year on graduation, the middle one-third about Rs 12 lakh and upper one-third Rs 20 lakh. Therefore, all of them can return the loan in a short period of time.

From the social point of view, OBCs and SC/ST should be upgraded educationally and culturally, as otherwise the social cost, though invisible, may do more harm. If possible, IIMs should admit the OBCs and SC/STs a few months ahead and give them special coaching in order to bring them up in written and oral communication, mathematics, general comprehension, etc.

The present rigid system of keeping a fixed period of two years should be replaced by a flexible one, where each student can undergo the programme at his own pace.

The brighter ones can complete in two years, as now, while others can take three or even four years. This system requires restructuring the curriculum as per a module system of credits.

There is a general impression that there is a confrontation between the IIMs and the Government, which should be avoided. After all, the Government has invested thousands of crores of rupees in the IIMs, IITs and Central institutions. The Government, as the owner, has nourished these institutions for the last three to four decades, subsidising them.

Institutes have been enjoying full academic autonomy, unlike in the case of some Universities, where there is a lot of interference from Government. But, on issues such as the OBC quota, it is natural that Government intervenes in the interest of social justice.

About a lakh of students apply to IITs and IIMs. At least 20,000 are eligible for admission. IIMs admit only 1,500. In fact, they should double the capacity, which would ensure that both upper castes, OBCs and SC/ST have enough seats. As mentioned earlier, the additional OBC students and the increased number of faculty could stay outside in buildings to be hired by the Institute. They could also be given transportation facility. In the case of IIMs, additional class rooms will be required. Temporary structures can be put up within a few months. Permanent buildings can be put up if land and finance are available. As regards faculty, the present workload per faculty in IIMs is 100 hours per year. If this is stretched by 20 hours more, as is the case in many institutes other than the IIM, the extra load can be partially met.

It is good to have a large number of guest faculty, with academic background, who will bring their experience into the classroom.

Enriching other sectors

Incidentally, most of the graduates in IIMs go to better managed companies in the corporate sector, which ought to be requested to help set up additional IIMs. They would gladly do so, if the government makes procedures easy.

The 1,500 management institutes in the country provide a lakh graduates a year. All of them go to the corporate sector, which employs only 5 per cent of our work force.

Other segments of the organised sector — in railways, ports, road transport, government departments, etc, — get few, if any, management inputs. The workers in the unorganised sector too do not get the benefit of managerial systems and culture.

Therefore, Government ought to set up management institutes to bring out graduates to man the vast governmental and semi-governmental sectors as well as the unorganised sector. There is a shortage of management teachers, estimated at 20,000. IIMs ought to provide more teachers.

Finally, management education without input of culture and ethics will do more harm than good. The IIM and IIT systems should introduce ethical and moral values as an integral part of the curriculum.

(The author, a National Research Professor in Management, is Director, CARTMAN-IHA, Bangalore.)

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