IIMs and other top league B-schools normally see 100% placement, but not so for second rung schools.

MUMBAI: On the academic floor, the MBA programme was once supreme. Arrogantly and unambiguously, it became the definitive must-have, attracting not only those interested in business but also those who wanted to master the tools of management.

The last few years, though, have proved to be rough for the B-school grad. Data from across the country shows that the payoff of this course has not been promising. Almost one of two MBA graduates is not placed and unemployment is rising.

Picture this: The class of 2016 saw 75,658 students get jobs on campus. There is no clarity on what happened to the equally large number of those who signed up for the course in 3,080 colleges spread across India. “You see some students who do not get placed take up small jobs; some others get placed in some company one or two years after graduating. Now, with mandatory internships, we feel the situation will improve as the students will get some kind of training while studying,” said Anil Sahasrabudhe, chairman of the All India Council of Technical Education.

While the IIMs see 100% placement, graduates from Tier-B schools don’t quite make the mark, say recruiters. To make matters worse, many of those who don’t get into the top schools don’t settle for a second-rung college either. The fallout of the drop in admissions has seen the closure of 233 B-schools which no longer saw business sense in offering an MBA course. Last year, an ASSOCHAM study concluded that only 7% of MBA graduates from Indian business schools, excluding those from the top 20 colleges, get a job straight after completing their course.

“Lack of quality control and infrastructure, low-paying jobs through campus placement and poor faculty are the major reasons for India’s unfolding B-school disaster. The need to update and re-train faculty in emerging global business perspectives is practically absent in many B-schools, often making the course content redundant,” the study went on to note.

Little wonder then that the AICTE has recommended that the curricula be revised every year, three internships be made mandatory, students be put through courses in technical and soft skills, startups be encouraged, exam systems be reformed and teachers be trained regularly.

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