global changes- education sector

ZENITH International Journal of Business Economics & Management Research
Vol.2 Issue 4, April 2012, ISSN 2249 8826
Online available at http://zenithresearch.org.in/

GLOBAL CHANGES & SECTORAL CHALLENGES-
EDUCATION SECTOR

PROF. AMIT GUPTA*

*Doctoral Student,
National School of Leadership,
Pune, India.

ABSTRACT

The world is going through unprecedented changes in the last 2 years which is impacting all
sectors of industry, agriculture and services in such a way that basic tenets of knowledge
paradigm are being questioned, leading to introspection of the roles of educators in general, and
business schools in particular, with ramifications on the sustainability of such systems for the
evolution of the future.

As defined by Fein, “Education for Sustainable Development has come to be seen as a process of
learning how to make decisions that consider the long-term future of the economy, ecology and
social well being of all communities”.

Just like sustainable development focuses on three aspects – social, economic and environmental
much like the “triple bottom line” concept adopted by many enlightened corporates who
understand importance of sustainable growth through market mechanisms. Thus higher
education should be able to inculcate basic values and beliefs in the youth about social relevance,
economic growth and environmental sustainability to carry forward this legacy and get into
productive sectors of the economy, propelled by the sweeping forces of globalization.

It is therefore essential that the education system is re-oriented to shape these beliefs by
absorption of ethics and value systems (the lack of which has resulted in the current economic
recession), thus integrating economic growth with social inclusion and environmental
sustainability.

This paper aims to highlight the various ways in which Indian higher education system ( with
specific focus on management education) can be fine tuned to ensure sustainable development in www.zenithresearch.org.in
decades to come and discuss opportunities and constraints in this regard to move ahead in its
march towards a knowledge society.

KEYWORDS: Knowledge paradigm, management education, sustainability, globalization,
ethics, value systems, social inclusion, and knowledge society.
______________________________________________________________________________
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1.0 INTRODUCTION

Before discussing the various facets of management education, it would not be out of context to
understand the various challenges facing the education sector with greater focus on higher
education and by corollary the management education vertical, given the socio-economic fabric
of our society and the regulatory structure in which we operate, at the same time taking
cognizance of the fact that we are living in a globalized society, mutually interdependent among
the comity of nations, irrespective of the state of economy in each country.

Based on this perspective, what are the goals and objectives of our higher education system
which is necessary to be articulated to come up with a well aligned policy structure and approach
in line with our national development goals and keeping in mind the demographic needs of our
ever increasing population?

2.0 GOALS OF HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM

Few issues are likely to have as crucial an impact on India‟s future as its ability to rapidly and
significantly improve its human capital. The fundamental underlying question is:

WHAT ARE THE GOALS OF INDIAN HIGHER EDUCATION?

Is the intention to train people to enter the labor force, or to prepare them to be easily trainable
by their employers? If the former, then one might emphasize professional education; if the latter,
then an education that develops analytical and critical thinking skills would be more desirable.

Should the emphasis be primarily on developing skills, disseminating knowledge or creating new
knowledge?

Is an important goal the creation of a middle class, or a society with greater social mobility?

Is it to mould the minds of young people? If so, to what end? Do we seek to create better citizens
or promote a stronger sense of nationhood?

While for a multicultural, multiethnic, pluralistic nation like ours it would be difficult to pick on
any one of the goals in isolation above, in all likelihood it would be an optimum combination of
www.zenithresearch.org.in
all the above to achieve the national development goals of access with social inclusion and rapid
economic growth with sustainability and equitable redistribution of the fruits of liberalization
and integration into the global economy.

Keeping these goals and context in perspective we discuss the status quo, current challenges, key
issues and approaches in the rest of the paper.

Demographic explosion in the young population of the country means that higher education
needs to keep apace with the growth in the relevant population. As per the 2001Census, 31.2 per
cent of the country or 337 million were below the age of 15. Providing higher education for this
group is imperative and has to be provided on an unprecedented scale to meet the challenges of
this unique demographic trend. The higher education sector currently faces major challenges of
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quality and excellence, and of improving access with inclusiveness. The proportion of our
population, in the relevant age group, that enters the world of higher education is only about 10
per cent (2004-05). Access to higher education in terms of the available number of seats in
universities is simply not adequate in relation to the current demand. There are also large
disparities in

Enrolment rates across states, urban and rural areas, sex, caste and poor-non-poor.

3.0 CURRENT SCENARIO

3.1 INSTITUTIONS: As in 2006, the Indian higher education system consisted of 355
universities and 18,064 colleges - there exist 20 Central Universities, 216 State

Universities, 101 Deemed Universities, 5 Institutions established through State Legislation and
13 Institutions of National Importance.


3.2 ENROLMENT: Around 110 lakh students were estimated to be currently enrolled in the
Indian higher education system in 2005-06. The growth of student enrolment in higher education
in India has been uneven and slow. For instance, while the enrolment grew by 6.7 per cent in
2001-2002, in 2005-06 it grew by 5.2 per cent.
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3.3 TEACHERS: The total number of teachers in the higher education system is 4.88 lakhs. Out
of the total teaching faculty, 84 per cent were employed in affi liated colleges and only 16 per
cent in the universities and university colleges. The student-teacher ratio works out to 18 in the
university departments and colleges and 23 in the affi liated colleges.

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4.0 ISSUES IN THE CURRENT FRAMEWORK

4.1 EXPANSION: The current enrolment in higher education stands at about 11 million. While
there has been a consistent growth in enrolment in higher education over the last few years, this
is not enough when compared to other countries. The gross enrolment ratio (GER) for higher
education currently is around 10 per cent.

Whereas it is 25 per cent for many other developing countries. Even South-east Asian countries
show much higher enrolment: Philippines (31 per cent), Thailand (19 per cent), Malaysia (27 per
cent) and China (13 per cent). The enrolment figure for the USA is 81 per cent, 54 per cent in the
UK and 49 per cent in Japan. Various committees that have examined the higher education
scenario in India have recommended an increase in the GER to at least 20 per cent. For instance,
the CABE Committee on Financing of Higher Education concluded on the basis of international
experience that an enrolment rate of 20 per cent or more is consistent with a turnaround in
economic performance. If India has to achieve the target soon, it would imply more than
doubling the scale and size of the higher education system within the next 5 to 7 years.

4.2 ACCESS: With high disparities, inclusive education has remained an elusive target. Inter-
caste, male-female and regional disparities in enrolment still remain prominent.

For example, while the gross enrolment ratio for people living in urban areas was almost 20 per
cent, it was only 6 per cent for rural areas. Further, the gross enrolment ratio for Scheduled
Tribes (STs), Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) was 6.57, 6.52 and
8.77 respectively, much lower than the all-India figure of 11.
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4.3 REGULATIONS: The regulatory structures in the current higher education system are
cumbersome. Entry through legislation alone, at present, is a formidable barrier. It

requires an Act of Legislature of Parliament to set up a university. The deemed university route
is much too difficult for new institutions. The consequence is a steady increase in the average
size of existing universities with a steady deterioration in their quality. The absence of
competition only compounds problems. A vast majority of the colleges are not recognized by
UGC under section 2(f ) of UGC Act. This poses a great challenge for the UGC in respect of
maintenance of standard of teaching and examination in higher education. Also the current
system of affiliated colleges for undergraduate colleges is not adequate. These are affiliated to
large unwieldy universities, making it difficult to monitor the standard of education being
imparted. Currently about 90 per cent of the undergraduate enrolment and 67 per cent of the
postgraduate enrolment is in the affiliated colleges. There are a large number of institutions that
are technically under the purview of the UGC but are not provided financial support by it
because they fail to fulfill the minimum eligibility norms.
4.4 FACULTY: Shortage of quality faculty is one of the main problems afflicting higher
education in India today. Teacher shortages often occur due to non availability of suitably
qualified people. Further, the academic profession has seen a steady decline in popularity –
possibly as a result of lack of incentives here and more lucrative opportunities in other
professions. Apart from increasing compensation of teachers, there is also a need to introduce
performance-based incentives in order to ensure teaching of superior quality.
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4.5 FUNDING: Public expenditure (Centre and States) on education is only around 3.6 per cent
of GDP. Government funding of higher education is still below 1 per cent of GDP. The
percentage expenditure on University and Higher Education to GDP, which was 0.77 per cent in
1990-91 showed a gradual decrease to 0.66 per cent in 2004-2005. Various committees have
unanimously recommended that state funding be increased to 6 per cent. While the Central
Advisory Board for Education (CABE) recommends spending 1 per cent to higher education and
0.5 per cent to technical education, the proportions in 2004-05 were 0.34 per cent for higher
education and 0.03 per cent for technical education.

India also has one of the lowest public expenditure on higher education per student at 406 US
Dollars, which compares unfavorably with Malaysia (11,790 dollars), China (2728 dollars),
Brazil (3986 dollars), Indonesia (666 dollars) and the Philippines (625 dollars). In nominal terms
the public expenditure per student in higher education stood at Rs.12518 respectively in 2003-04.
The trend analysis shows that the increase is not that marked if we consider the growth in
enrolment, with the nominal public expenditure per student in higher education going up by only
40 per cent from 1993-94 to 2003-04. In fact, in real terms, public expenditure per student in
higher education has declined from Rs. 8961 in 1993-94 to Rs. 7117 in 2003-04.

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4.6 PRIVATE INSTITUTUONS: The share of private unaided higher education institutions
increased from 42.6 percent in 2001 to 63.21 per cent in 2006. Their share of enrolments also
increased from 32.89 per cent to 51.53 per cent in the same period. This trend is likely to
continue and therefore, it is reasonable to expect that about half of incremental enrolment
targeted for higher education will come from private providers.

There is a need for the state to recognize the role of the private sector and encourage their
participation. There has already been a de-facto privatization of the professional education
sector, with more than 80 percent of the engineering colleges being privately funded and
managed. While there are strict entry barriers for the private sector, there is not enough
regulation on the products and outputs of the private sector.

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4.7 ACCREDITATION: Accreditation in higher education pertains to determining the quality
of an institution. The criteria on which institutions are judged typically involve expected student
achievement, quality of curriculum, faculty, academic support and services for students, and
financial capacity. In India accreditation (unlike in other countries such as the USA and the UK)
is performed by government agencies. The National Assessment and Accreditation Council
(NAAC) was set up by the UGC in 1994 to accredit institutions of higher education. The
NAAC‟s assessment is based on pre-determined criteria that combine self-study and peer review.
NAAC accredits and certifies for educational quality in institutions based on seven criteria with
different weights for each criterion, and for different types of institutions. NAAC has so far
completed accreditation of only 140 out of the 355 universities and 3,492 out of the 18,064
colleges. This covered just over 10 per cent of all institutions, and barely any private colleges
and universities. The results of the accreditation process thus far indicate serious quality
problems. Only 9 per cent of the colleges and 31 per cent of the universities are rated as „A‟
grade and the rest fall in „B‟ and „C‟ categories. Accreditation by NAAC is voluntary and valid
for five years. However, very few institutions have applied for accreditation by NAAC.

4.8 QUALITY: There are concerns about the quality of higher education provided in India
currently. There is an annual outflow of more than 1,50,000 students to Institutes in the west
every year – driving out nearly 2-3 billion dollars in foreign exchange per annum. It makes India
the second-largest target market globally for education institutes in the west. Though the problem
of reaching world class standards is not as pressing as meeting the larger needs of the population,
India‟s standing in this regard is indicative perhaps of the generally low standards. In a London
Times Higher Education Supplement ranking of the top 200 universities, only 1 Indian institution
was listed, while the Shanghai University ranking of 500 world-class universities featured only 3
Indian universities.

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5.0 IDEA OF UNIVERSITY

A university is a place where new ideas germinate, strike roots and grow tall and sturdy. It is a
unique space, which covers the entire universe of knowledge. It is a place where creative minds
converge, interact with each other and construct visions of new realities. Established notions of
truth are challenged in the pursuit of knowledge.

To be able to do all this, universities have to be autonomous spaces. They are diverse in their
design and organization, reflecting the unique historical and socio-cultural settings in which they
have grown. This diversity reflects the organic links that they have with their surroundings,
which are not only physical but cultural as well. Through research and teaching, they create,
evaluate and bring about advances in knowledge and culture. The principle of moral and
intellectual autonomy from political authority and economic power is ingrained in the very idea
of the university. This autonomy ensures freedom in research and training and it is expected that
the governments and the society would respect this fundamental principle. Teaching and research
have to be inseparable, because the task of the university is not only to impart knowledge to
young people but also to give them opportunities to create their own knowledge. Active and
constant engagement with the young minds and hearts of the society also implies that the
universities are to serve the society as a whole, and in order to achieve this, considerable
investment in continuing education is essential. The slow but increasing democratization of
higher education in India has meant that the university is no longer the preserve of the children
of the elite, or of the educated/professional middle-class. As more youngsters from a different
segment of society enter the universities, they look at higher education as a means to transcend
the class barriers. Consequently, university education is no longer viewed as a good in itself, but
also as the stepping-stone into a higher orbit of the job market, where the student expects a
concrete monetary return, and consequently in this perception, the university of today is expected
to be in tune with the emerging needs of the society. Even so, graduates should be sufficiently
exposed to interdisciplinary experiences, which can sustain them when the demands of a
particular job market changes. The university has also been regarded as the trustee of the
humanist traditions of the world and it constantly endeavors to fulfill its mission by attaining
universal knowledge, which can be done only by transcending geographical, cultural and
political boundaries. By doing so, it affirms the need for all cultures to know each other and
keeps alive the possibilities of dialogue among them. It is also important to remember that the
university aims to develop a scholarly and scientific outlook. This outlook involves the ability to
set aside special interests for the sake of impartial analysis. Standing for more than specific
factual knowledge, a scientific outlook calls for an analytical and questioning attitude and the
continuous exercise of reason. All this requires us to go beyond specialized knowledge and
competence. This universal approach to knowledge demands that boundaries of disciplines be
porous and scholars be constantly on guard against the tendency towards „cubicalization‟ of
knowledge. Apart from resisting fragmentation of knowledge, the idea of a university should at
the same time aspire to encompass the world of work in all its forms. Work constitutes the
human sphere where knowledge and skills are born, and where new knowledge takes shape in
response to social and personal needs. Indeed, the experience and culture of work represents that
core space where the humanities and the sciences meet. The founders of the Indian Republic,
with these essential features of a University at the back of their minds, realized even during the
freedom struggle that the future of Indian democracy depended largely on the ability of the
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society to create new knowledge. The enrichment and development of cultural, scientific and
technical resources was to be done in centres of culture, knowledge and research, as represented
by true universities. These expectations were to be fulfilled in a social context characterized by a
sharp division between the rural and the urban, the elite and the masses, and between men and
women. Since a university is based on the fundamental principle of transcendence and meeting
of minds from diverse backgrounds, higher education was increasingly perceived as a means to
overcome caste and class hierarchy, patriarchy and other cultural prejudices and also a source of
new knowledge and skills, a space for creativity and innovations. Higher education, therefore,
was and continues to be considered a national responsibility and the state has to make necessary
provisions to realize its potentials.

For higher education to thrive, there are five key areas of the knowledge paradigm – access to
knowledge, knowledge concepts, knowledge creation, knowledge application and development
of better knowledge services.

5.1 ACCESS TO KNOWLEDGE: Providing access to knowledge is the most fundamental way
of increasing the opportunities and reach of individuals and groups. Therefore, means must exist
for individuals who have the ability to receive and comprehend knowledge to readily obtain it.
This also includes making accurate knowledge of the state and its activities available to the www.zenithresearch.org.in
general public. Certain issues concerning this are:

1. Right to Education

2. Language

3. Translation

4. Libraries

5. Networks
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5.2 KNOWLEDGE CONCEPTS: Knowledge concepts are organized, distributed and
transmitted through the education system. It is through education that an individual can make
better informed decisions, keep abreast of important issues and trends around him or her and
most importantly, question the socio-economic arrangements in a manner that can lead to change
and development. This can cover many aspects of the Indian education system:

1. School Education

2. Vocational Education

3. Higher Education

4. Medical Education

5. Legal Education

6. Management Education

7. Engineering Education

8. Open and Distance Education

9. Open Educational Resources

10. More Quality Ph.Ds

5.3 CREATION OF KNOWLEDGE: A nation can develop in two ways – either it learns to
use existing resources better, or it discovers new resources. Both activities involve creation of
knowledge. This makes it important to consider all activities that lead to the creation of
knowledge directly or help in protecting the knowledge that is created. India must therefore
examine issues such as :

1. Science and Technology

2. Legal Framework for Public Funded Research

3. Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) www.zenithresearch.org.in

4. Innovation

5. Entrepreneurship

5.4 KNOWLEDGE APPLICATIONS: Knowledge can be productively applied to promote
technological change and facilitate reliable and regular flow of information. This requires
significant investment in goal-oriented research and development along with access models that
can simplify market transactions and other processes within an industry. Initiatives in the areas
of agriculture, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and traditional knowledge can demonstrate
that knowledge can be very effectively applied for the betterment of the rural poor.
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1. Traditional Knowledge

2. Agriculture

3. Enhancing Quality of Life

5.5 DELIVERY OF SERVICES: Knowledge services have the potential to simplify many
different points at which citizens interact with the State. Traditionally, these points of interaction
have been vulnerable to unscrupulous activities and rent-seeking. Technology provides us with
an opportunity to ensure accountability, transparency and efficiency in government services. E-
governance is one of the ways in which citizens can be empowered to increase transparency of
government functioning, leading to greater efficiency and productivity.

6.0 CHALLENGES OF HIGHER EDUCATION

Higher education in India refers to education beyond school (class 12). The medium term macro
objective with regard to higher education would be to increase the gross enrolment ratio to at
least 15% by 2015. This would imply more than doubling the scale of higher education within
the next few years. Further the system needs to be expanded without diluting quality and in fact
by raising the standard of education imparted and making higher education more relevant to the
needs and opportunities of a knowledge society. There is also a widespread recognition of the
need to make higher education more accessible to all sections of society.

There is a need for excellence in the system, expansion of the higher education sector in the
country, and providing access to higher education for larger numbers of students.

Some of the issues that have been highlighted by the National Knowledge Commission are:

Systemic issues like quantity and quality of higher education

Regulatory framework

Access to higher education

Financing of higher education
Institutional architecture of universities

Governance and administration

Content in terms of curriculum and examinations

Faculty and Research

identify constraints, problems and challenges relating to curriculum, teaching,
infrastructure, administration and access and to suggest means of raising standards and
promoting excellence in undergraduate education.
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Colleges, affiliated and constituent, form the backbone of the undergraduate education system in
India. At present, there are approximately 17,625 colleges and 348 universities with an
enrolment of roughly 10.48 lac students in affiliated colleges and universities (Source:
University Grants Commission).

Approximately, 8% of the relevant age group is enrolled in higher education, which is very low
as compared to other developing and developed countries. If we have to move towards a
knowledge economy and society, we need to revisit the prevailing model of undergraduate
colleges in terms of quantity as well as quality. It is widely recognized that colleges in different
parts of the country are of varying standards with indeed a few which can compete with the best,
internationally. However, with honesty one should also accept that the vast majority only serve
the needs of “academic squatters.”

The identity of colleges as a distinct space has been lost sight of. Their purpose of initiating
students into life long learning and skill building has been sidelined to give primacy to churning
out degrees. Most undergraduate colleges suffer from a paralysis of inaction – stifled by
excessive regulations and outmoded procedures, lack of resources and lack of incentives to
change. They continue to merely exist. India faces today two exciting challenges in Higher
Education: to increase the access to higher education and to provide educational institutions of
academic excellence. It may seem that these are contradictory challenges and that we can only
address one of them at a time. However, the Working Group feels that neither challenge can be
sacrificed for the other. They need simultaneous attention and given our resources and
possibilities, both can be addressed effectively. Government funding of education and, in
particular higher education, needs to increase. However, private and corporate funding for
education cannot be avoided given the immense task ahead.

The challenge is to examine alternative models which could work towards academic excellence,
without creating only islands of excellence. The challenge is to examine diversity rather than
uniformity. The challenge is to increase access to higher education to meet the needs of school
leavers, without compromising on standards. The challenge also is to look for parallel systems
which can equip students with learning skills as well as equip them with the means of earning a
livelihood.

7. 0 NEEDS OF THE FUTURE

Although India produces a large number of management graduates, perhaps next only to the www.zenithresearch.org.in
U.S., scholarly debate on curriculum, pedagogy, and innovation is negligible. There are, as
already noted, many reports prepared on behalf of, or addressed to, the Government or the
regulatory authorities but little generated by or addressed to the Professional community, which
has to deliver the results. Action by government or regulatory authorities on the various reports is
slow and sometimes inconsistent. Most institutions depend on curricula and materials developed
elsewhere and have not developed an intrinsic capacity to respond and evolve to the changing
needs of various sectors of industry and services, student interests, Non-Government
Organizations, or the economy and society. Many are unable to fulfill the mandatory Changes
imposed on them, such as upgrading of the curriculum by the Universities or the Board of
Management Studies.
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There is need for greater autonomy for management education entities as well as a better
regulatory regime. The market has to be enabled to consistently discriminate different
programmes/institutions based on their capacity to provide education of value. In a well
functioning system, more and better resources have to flow to those Institutions that have a
capacity to consistently deliver better value and respond well to professional influence. There
would be in such a system serious and continuing debate among management scholars and
educationists on the goals, objectives and content of management education as the context and
needs keep changing. Capacity growth would be guided by systematic forecast of the educational
needs of the Economy/various sectors. Those institutions that have a higher level of commitment
and depth of resources should be the ones that grow and respond to needs.

There are few systematic attempts at forecasting the demand for managerial manpower in India.
There is general consensus among industry that the needs are increasing at an accelerating speed.
Also, the emphasis is increasingly on quality, both at entry and middle levels. Management
institutions in India are today estimated to be graduating approximately 400,000+ students
annually. HR managers in various industries, especially in the “sunrise” industries, foresee a
manifold increase in their requirements. However, what proportion of the total requirement will
be for the increasingly more expensive post graduates in management and what proportion
would be for the less-expensive lower levels of managers is not clear. In the Group‟s judgment,
quite a large percentage of the huge additional requirement could be met more speedily and
satisfactorily by adapting the Bachelors programmes in Management so as to focus on
specialization and practice. The retailing sector, which is expected to hire large numbers in
future, has already initiated through several institutions long-duration educational programmes
and short-term sector-specific training of experienced managers. It is important to ensure that the
students do acquire enduring knowledge, skills and aptitudes that are well recognized, as in a
recognized professional degree, and upon which they can build later, if desired. Notwithstanding
the above, there is no doubt there will be a steep increase in the demand for postgraduates in
management. Based on the assessments of HR managers, as a best estimate, the Group foresees
the need for a three-fold increase over the next 10-15 years. Thus, there will be a need to raise
the output from the current level of 100,000 managers (employable) to about 300,000 a year over
the next 10-15 years. For these, specialized management training/development programmes
would be needed. The number of business schools has trebled in the last ten years, with many of
indifferent quality. The market has already started discriminating the quality of institutions and
graduates. This is expected to intensify in future. A good information system on all the schools
can sharpen the working of this market process, which is currently based on incomplete, and
sometimes inaccurate, data and exaggerated claims of various educational organizations. An
improved working of the market processes would have its consequences for those institutions not
gearing up to meet minimum quality standards and expectations of the stakeholders. It is in this
context that there is the need to put in place an appropriate promotional and mentoring agency,
and a regulatory architecture and supportive infrastructure.
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8.0 MANAGEMENT EDUCATION IN THE WIDER CONTEXT OF SOCIETY

In the 1950s, when India sought to give an impetus to its management education with assistance
from abroad, particularly the United States, rationality or positivism was at its peak in the West.
Knowledge in each field was considered separate with its own reasoning and technology.
Science and technology was separated from history, sociology, or philosophy. Observation and
fact was the guiding source for knowledge, a position that encouraged a compartmental view of
management education. Further, the establishment of management institutes in India outside the
University system distanced management education from other fields. Management did draw
from a number of other fields, including science, technology, psychology or sociology. But since
its own knowledge, methodology and objectives in society were different, management
education did not have to go deep into the bases of the other fields or the wider context of society
itself.

Since those days, however, scientific reasoning has come full circle in the West. There is
increasing realization that subjective dimensions of the observer are inextricably embedded in
observations and facts. There exists today an environment for accepting the validity of multiple
approaches and societal assumptions, a notion celebrated in Indian philosophy and society.

With the impact of management on society greatly increased over the last several decades,
management educationists in the West are debating on how to root management education more
solidly in the basic fields it draws upon such as sociology, psychology or mathematics. With
globalization, the need for management education to pursue greater scope and aim at a more
wholesome impact on society has increased.

Such thinking is particularly relevant to India, with its diverse socio-cultural contexts and
disparities in different occupations. Management education, while strengthening its roots in
various fields, should also understand and reflect on India‟s diversity and preserve the age-old
Vedantic wisdom that holds our society. The strengthening of the Universities and their pursuit
of knowledge relevant to the understanding of behaviour and values in society is extremely
important. Management Departments in Universities, even while being independent and
autonomous, should draw deeply from the knowledge sources in other departments and do
research.

A majority of management education organizations in India is oriented primarily to teaching.
The materials used for teaching are also not of relevance to the student background or living www.zenithresearch.org.in
experiences in India. The focus on campus interviews, careers and jobs further detracts students
from gaining a disciplinary understanding of the specializations and society in which they have
to innovate and be influential leaders. There is need to increase research support not only in
management but also in the many of its supporting disciplines.
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9.0 CONCLUSIONS

Need to move beyond conventional boundaries of thinking:

1. BEYOND BUSINESS: BUSINESS +SOCIETY

Uncertainty is inevitable; worrying is optional

Need to develop competencies-

- ability to anticipate

- dealing with ambiguity

- adaptability to changing market conditions

2. BEYOND SUCCESS: SUCCESS + SIGNIFICANCE

Passion + Purpose = Performance

3. BEYOND U.S CENTRIC CURRICULUM: DEVELOPED + EMERGING MARKETS

4. STAKEHOLDERS: KEY ISSUES

- Students (including potential students): “Earning v/s Learning”

- Faculty: “research v/s teaching”- excellent in one/ good in other:

-Alumni: “Engagement v/s Involvement”

-Corporate Partners: “Rigour v/s relevance”

-Media: “Ranking v/s Reputation”

Therefore the key challenges that need to be addressed are:

a. Increasing competition
b. Alumni involvement and engagement

c. Building a culture of philanthropy among individuals and society

d. Faculty attraction, development & retention

e. Managing student expectations

f. Building corporate partnerships

g. Academic governance
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h. Geopolitical and economic environment

i. Media Relations

j. Collaboration / multi stakeholder partnerships.

10.0 REFERENCES

1 .Reports of Ministry of HRD,Govt of India

2. National Knowledge Commission Report to the Nation

3. Yashpal Committee report on Higher Education

4. World Economic Forum: Global Education Initiative Reports

5. UN Millenium Development Goals

6. UGC/ AICTE/ MCI/ ACI websites

7. Journal of Management Research

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