Management Education: Problems And Solutions

Prof. J. Philip, Principal Founder & Chairman, Xavier Institute of Management & Entrepreneurship, Bangalore, in a free-wheeling interaction with Rajaram Sukumar, analyses what needs to be done to make India’s management education more meaningful…

- Rajaram Sukumar

Q. India’s management education is riddled with problems. Which are the ones that need immediate attention?

A. There are quite a few of them. But the No.1 is shortage of competent faculty. It is a very serious issue. This is where AICTE should have made some contribution. Unfortunately, not much has happened. And our law on qualifications for teaching faculty is pretty archaic. Under this rule, K.V. Kamath, Mohandas Pai or Naina Lal Kidwai cannot be a management professor since they have no Ph.D. But, someone who has done Ph.D. on poultry farming or on socio-economic conditions of beedi workers, can teach management.

Q. Could you give some examples of those without any doctoral qualification excelling as management leaders?

A. Please remember none of the founder directors of IIMs had a Ph.D. Two of them did not even have a Master’s degree. As most of us in the profession of management education know, these gentlemen – Ravi Mathai, K.T. Chandy, Ishwar Dayal and Ramaswamy – had done quite well as directors. Now the lawmakers would do well to consult industry to lay down standards for such professional functions or roles. PhDs from weaker systems have done considerable damage to our Business Schools. A good MBA with 20 years’ industrial experience at a senior level will at any time be a better teacher compared to these paper PhDs. Good PhDs, yes, but not the marginal ones which dominate the field.

Q. Is there a need for course correction in India’s management education domain?