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Every year more than 1.10 Lakh students aspire for and take admission in a post graduate program in management and its variants, like MBA, autonomous Post Graduate Diploma in Management / Business Administration, and in other streams such as Hotel Management, Insurance Management, and Foreign Trade Management, etc.

, in India.

It is boom-time for MBAs and Engineers all over the world since they are major demand in market, and which is likely to remain so for at least next 5 years.

However, the quality of pass-outs from various university schools and private autonomous colleges is a serious matter of national concern. In fact, a stage has already reached where anyone aspiring to get MBA / PGDM level certification can now get entry in one or other school somewhere in India or even in foreign universities and institutes.

There are numerous commercial and pedagogical (teaching) models that have emerged. The latest revolutions in convergence technology based on Internet, microwave and satellite transmission have helped this surge. A number of third-rate institutes and universities have jumped on to make money by launching distance education programs, which same universities themselves don't recognize for various purposes. This is a big fraud with citizens of India.

Many B-schools claim as being centers of excellence and charge huge fees (IIMs included). This is also true for state-aided or controlled, university affiliated or autonomous institutes alike and new private universities. On the whole, education in management, excepting for a few universities' with their own campuses, is sub-standard and avoidable for various reasons.

The student is in quandary as to what to choose and how to choose and what should be fair expenses for getting this PG level business management education degree or diploma and will it be really worth?

Whereas on one hand, employers, students and their parents are concerned about quality of these PG pass-outs, on the other hand, a plethora of regulatory bodies have miserably failed to improve and maintain quality. Large numbers of unapproved and fly-by-night people are running institutes in engineering, management, and other professional courses, and students and employers both should beware of these.

Nowhere in the world the higher education is unregulated. USA has most rigorous accreditation process. Education is essentially non-profit work but has been turned into a tax-free, free-for-all business in the name of liberalization and reforms. The Governments in India has abandoned its duty to keep fees in check and regulate higher education, especially the current government run by UPA.

All those so-called business leaders who now head boards of IIMs and other institutes should take out and donate a part of their revenue to these institutes instead of blindly raising fees and causing wide-spread damage and inflation in the country.

It is highly irresponsible act. It is time to set up National Pricing Commission in education and an Independent Regulatory Authority for accreditation with law for compulsory registration of all educational institutes in India from middle schools to Ph.D. level (especially technical education) and treat the infringement as criminal offense and attachment of all assets.

Like any sunrise sector, a large number of industrial houses of past have jumped into education business as it is easy money, no risk investment, no credit needed to be given in market, and there is no perceptible ability of customers (students, parents and employers) to compare and value quality.

It is unfortunate that even employers don't have any idea about this and they blindly support some B-school and pay heavy salaries while leaving out lesser known but well-managed institutes that work hard to provide quality education and have good students available for employment. Employers must also do more research and patronize good schools by their own research. It will pay them well for this exercise. The mission of one and all should be to provide quality education at minimum non-profit basis and to create egalitarian system across the country, and not to hype-up only a few sub-standard institutes at cost of hidden large amount of talent all over the country.

The major problem with management education in India is almost foolish rules and laws governing these and interference of state governments in not allowing at least reasonable fees for quality education in the name of popular welfare measures and exploitation. It is counter-productive.

While a large number of institutes are busy looting and charging heavy fees showing external get-ups, impressive buildings, exaggerated claims, and an inactive and false list of dignitaries attached to institutes' board who in reality have nothing to do with these institutes, the universities are being paralyzed by interference and politics of 'babudom' and politicians.

Another major reason for this crisis is lack of leadership to these institutes because of outdated and beaten rules of requirements of Ph.D. work for Directors and Professors (which may suit general faculties in universities) whereas we all know about quality of Ph.D. type courses in India, which are no better than getting a graduation degree from any C-class university.

But the well-entrenched academicians in charge of UGC, AICTE and other bodies insist on such qualifications to promote their own interests. These types of rules have really hampered practical and meaningful technical and business knowledge to be imparted in institutes.

Despite all the above constraints, more than 1280 B-schools are functioning in India, and there are many other models available for MBA / PGDM courses as general branch or variants like MBA-Finance, MBA-Insurance, MBA-IT, MBA-International Business, and so on.

In the end of this article, I would like to emphasize that involvement of people with hands-on experience in corporate sector is very limited in technical education (both in Management & Engineering), the state-affiliated college fees are too absurdly low to give good education and there are several dubious institutes opened to mint money.

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