Firms here fund Harvard rather than local varsities: Ajit Rangnekar

The education sector needs both government support and philanthropy, says Ajit Rangnekar, dean of the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad. DNA caught up with the expert to know his views on executive education, corporate support and part-time MBA. Excerpts from the interview.

Q: How is the demand for executive education shaping up in India?
A: See, executive education as a broad subject is education that is provided to working adults when they are still working. Our PG programme is also designed for adults but when they are not working. Now in that you can have a variety of time-periods. The smallest we do is three days, but it is very rare. Typically it is three days to three weeks. When you do a three day to three week programme, you do a different kind of a programme where there is no exam. The longer-term programmes which are generically called degree programmes have an examination. There is a huge need for the executive education short-term programmes at various price points. We have chosen to specifically cater to the top management and even that segment is growing phenomenally. If you expand that to include senior management and middle management then that is a much bigger portion that the MBA programme. In markets like China, the part-time MBA and weekend MBA form a far bigger portion of the market than the full-time MBA. India is the only country in this part of the world where the part-time programmes are not so big. That’s because we have a tendency to finish graduation, do masters and then get a job. So, MBA education has remained in the realm of continuing college education. Today, many people, because they have no other alternatives, are getting into second-tier MBA programmes. I feel there is a potential for specialist programmes like software management, supply chain management and finance. Once such programmes and institutes come up, many people will opt for part-time programmes.

Q: Does MBA by correspondence really help in getting a good job?
A: I have not seen any high quality student who has come through that. I would question the value. You might as well go online on MIT Sloan’s website and read all their material. If education was just about reading good material then institutions would not have existed. There is a fundamental thing missing which is an interaction, challenging each other and interpretations. It’s not just about reading and learning. I think from 5-10 years from now, a new kind of e-learning is going to come about. That will revolutionise the way education is provided.

Q: What are the challenges before MBA institutes at present?
A: If you look at the global level, then we are all facing a rapidly changing world environment. People are questioning the old established way of life. Institutions are questioning their roles. Do they need to adapt to this changing environment? Then there is the impact of demographic change. If we are going to be a young country, then we have to look at 200 million, 300 million people. How are we going to cater to school education, undergrad and skills based programmes? Are we going to stick to liberal arts? Then there are regulatory challenges and changes. There is a challenge of facing a large number of students and combined with this is a paucity of faculty. This is a dangerous situation. How are you going to meet the expansion? Land is expensive. If you can’t get land, faculty, then how will you face such a huge demand from students? A completely new animal, the for-profit education provider is going to come on the back of technology and offer things.

Q: For-profit education. The concept often raises eyebrows…
A: I believe there is not a single for-profit high-quality university in the world. If you are a university, you have to do long-term things. You do research then who is going to pay for it. The moment it becomes for-profit, there is a temptation to cut out things which don’t generate money. The university has to be much more than a money-making machine. So philosophically I’m opposed to having this. However, universities need money. So, simultaneously we have to ensure that they have access to funds within which they can work. In the West, great institutions are a combination of state support and philanthropic support. In India philanthropic support is largely missing. The extent is low. You have conglomerates here giving money to Harvard rather than to institutions in India. Why not to Mumbai university? How can we grow our capacity if we do not get indigenous philanthropic funding? That is required. Also, the government can provide money to existing institutions to improve their current capacities.

Q: Is more corporate philanthropy required in education?
A: Absolutely. Not just corporate. There are enough wealthy people in this country. If people do not have confidence that the government will not deprive them of what is theirs, then people will be more wiling to give money to philanthropy. It’s not that people don’t want to give. They don’t know how to give. What is the best way of giving? Which is the best institution to give? We have to make it easy for people with wealth to give smartly. The subject of philanthropy is lacking in India and we have to work on it.