Egalitarian impulses to fulfill the quest for a democratic classless society based on a hierarchy of merit fuels the desire of individuals to access technical and higher education. Since education is an input through which socio-economic and political changes are mediated, it serves as a base for ongoing human resource development. Providing access and opportunity to higher income earning education & skill development, therefore, involves not only a change in the process of teaching and learning, but also in the content and the quality of the knowledge and training that is imparted.
The nineties of the last century have been a decade of transition during which education systems, the world over, have witnessed paradigm shifts, and have initiated academic reforms and delivery restructuring. The changes represent a response to urgent and immediate demands from the constituents of the polity. This process was itself initiated by the breakdown of traditional systems of ‘equitable’ access to scholarly education by a mass upsurge created by the insatiable demand pull of the burgeoning market economy. Market economies and the unprecedented developments in information and communication technologies could only be satisfied by the ever growing larger numbers of entrants to manage complex business organizations and staff unique and novel businesses such as remote services, digital products, internet, and mobile phone services (which is going into its fourth generation in two decades).
The major developments in higher education during this eventful decade have been a paradigm shift from teacher-centred instruction to student-centred learning (to facilitate immediate employability), and the acceptance of the concept of lifelong learning, and the emergence of distance and modular education as a viable, and in many instances the preferred mode of education delivery. The digitization of instructional material has enhanced portability, replication, economy, delivery, exactitude and volumes. Above all, there has been an overall broadening of higher education characterized by numerous institutional linkages, dramatic increase in student mobility and the offering of a large number of programmes across the country, matched by delivery over cable, internet, satellite and CD at low cost.
India has certainly been accommodating this demand for education by passing the requisite legislation and acts to regulate the wave of educational expansion that is sweeping the rural and suburban areas. In the context of the recent expansion of our economy, it is imperative that we take up the task of broadening and deepening access to our higher education seriously. Increased access, immediate employability, higher incomes, increasing consumer spending will democratise our society greatly and this democratization shall permeate into practically all areas of our social, cultural, political and economic activities.
India’s rapid economic expansion and infrastructure development have created a great demand for young managers to handle this enormous growth. Many Business Schools of varying quality standards have established themselves in the recent past. However the supply of young professionals is still not commensurate with the huge demand; and there is still a dearth of able and motivated managers. Moreover, this rapid spurt of new educational institutions without proper attention to quality is not in the long term interests of Indian industry.
Our business education must be in line with the corporate employment opportunities available to the youth, in the national and global employment market. These require that students be not only well-versed with national issues, but also be conversant and informed about the global scene. In the coming years, international experience will be an added value, and perhaps a necessary requirement, in the student’s portfolio. In view of the foregoing observations, it appears that our teachers must relate theory with practical issues of real world situations.
With this endeavor in mind, and to ensure quality Business education, we, the friends and alumni of the post graduate program of “seventy three” of IIM (Ahmedabad), with vast industry experience, have decided to rise to the occasion by creating an institution having the achievement culture and educational standards at par with the milieu our alma mater. Our faith in imparting the latest knowledge, techniques and skills has been further strengthened by the support we have received from a wide range of professionals and friends. All of us have decided to disseminate our knowledge, which is based on our rich corporate experience of over three decades, to young professionals who can carry the torch higher and further. We have identified the need for implementing the process of linking contemporary theory to the practical issues on the ground.
