In a circular, it has announced that all two-year full-time general management programs offered by institutes that are not affiliated to any university be given the title of ‘PGDM’. General management programs aimed for executives will have to be called ‘Executive PGDM’. The circular makes several other recommendations to regulate the management education sector.
On the issue of nomenclature, the AICTE circular states, “The Council has made further decisions with regards to postgraduate management program, not affiliated to any university. Every two-year full-time regular general management program will be referred to as PGDM.” Clarifying the issue of nomenclature of ‘specialized’ management programs, the circular adds, “Every two-year full-time sector/function focused management program will be referred to as PGDM, in parenthesis the focus or the sector would be mentioned.” For instance, a program focusing on insurance will be called PGDM (Insurance).
The Council has also issued directives for executive management programs, which are being offered by many institutes. The AICTE circular says, “Every full-time general management program that is meant for executives with 15 months of learning, 12 months on campus and 3 months field-based dissertation, will be referred to as Executive MBA.” AICTE has also recommended that the program duration for Executive MBA be fixed for 15 months only. The circular also recommends ‘700 contact hours’ and ‘100 hours of field based projects.’
The AICTE circular also makes a distinction between flagship two-year PGDMs and other programs of lesser duration. Programs where the duration is between one year and two years should be called as ‘Certificate Programs’. Says the circular, “All other programs of duration one year and more and less than two years will be treated as ‘Certificate Program’ and will not be allowed to use the term PGDM or Executive PGDM. Candidates completing these certificate programs will be awarded a postgraduate certificate in management.”
The issue of multiple titles for management programs offered by various B-schools has been a cause of confusion for both students and the industry. The circular was sent to directors of all institutes under AICTE’s purview. According to sources, after the dispatch of this circular, AICTE officials recently met a large number of management institutes to discuss the matter further, and have advised institutions to implement the directives contained in the circular.
AICTE is a statutory body of the Government of India and was set up in November 1945. Its objective is to facilitate technical education in the country.
