The Hindu Business Line : B-Schools face faculty shortage

The problem is growing by the day as the business schools have to compete with their counterparts in India and abroad, in curriculum and teaching standards, said M. Rammohan Rao, Dean, Indian School of Business (ISB).

“Though the salary packages at ISB are about 15-20 per cent higher than the market rate, teaching in business schools as a profession has not yet fired the passion in many due to the prevailing low remuneration,” Rao observed.

He told The New Manager that the surge in the number of business schools in the recent past and the limited pool of quality Ph. D holders, among others, was aggravating the problem.

The interest of reputed business schools across the world in hiring Indian faculty had added one more dimension to this problem.

“There are many who are returning from faculty positions in the US after a considerable stint. However, countries like Singapore, which are about five hours travel time from India, are catching them midway,” Rao said.

The main reason for the scarcity of faculty was the Indian universities’ failure to strengthen their research base and Ph.D programmes, said Dr Pandu Rangarao, Chief Academic Advisor, ICFAI Business School.

“There are hardly 100 new doctorates being awarded in management each year. With some of them preferring to join corporates, how can we expect sufficient faculty? Like B.Ed programmes producing teachers, we need more Ph.Ds to become faculty,” he opined.

And the problem is here to stay. “Creating a talented faculty pool is obviously a long-drawn task. One needs to focus more on research-driven programmes leading to Ph.Ds,” the ISB dean said.

The not-so-robust Ph.D pipeline in the country would make the problem a long-term one, according to Dr Devi Singh, Director, Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow.

Apart from lucrative remuneration packages, there is a need for ‘extra-economic incentives’ to attract and retain faculty, feel experts.

“Salaries have to be seen in the social and economic context. Academic salaries can never match those in industry. However, a professor has more access to resources that will give him or her intellectual satisfaction,” Dr Singh said.

Setting aside more resources for research and publication activity could improve the situation in due course. “The industry should also carve out a role for itself in this process by setting up endowments and other incentives,” he added.

More Stories on : Education | Human Resources

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Pay attention to details

A compass, an anchor and a telescope

Leaders should be intelligent decision-makers

B-Schools face faculty shortage

Icfai University signs MoU to set up Adelaide campus

People — the lifeblood of an organisation

What do the vacant looks of your staff say?