Submitted to the Government of India on June 23, the report by the Yash Pal Committee on Renovation and Rejuvenation of Higher Education has evoked a positive response amongst educationists in India. The report calls for an end to license-raj in higher education sector with setting up of a single regulatory body and several other far-reaching reforms. To quote from the report (a copy of which is with MBAUniverse.com), “We have suggested that the present regulating bodies should all be subsumed within a National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER).”

It also says, “I would like to mention our deep concern in respect of two matters. Mushrooming engineering and management colleges, with some notable exceptions, have largely become, mere business entities dispensing very poor quality education. Deemed Universities have also mushroomed.” HRD Minister Kapil Sibal in various media interviews expressed his commitment to implementing the recommendation of this report. Should this happen, what will be the impact on India’s burgeoning management education domain?

MBAUniverse.com analyzed the report and sought opinions from various management experts. In this interview with MBAUniverse.com, Prof Dr. Uday Salunkhe, Group Director, Welingkar Education comments that implementing the recommendations will do a world of good to the management education sector and will take India to new heights.
 
Excerpts from the interview:
 
Q: What is your overall assessment of Yash Pal Committee Report on ‘Renovation and Rejuvenation of Higher Education’ sector in India?

A: The report prominently focuses on improving the quality of education, both on secondary and higher secondary level. If the government agrees to release strong hold on curriculum designing and quality of education to the respective universities and institutes, all the educational institutes will be benefited. The sectors that the committee has identified are science, astronomy, management, languages, comparative literature, philosophy, psychology, information technology, law, political science, economics, and agriculture. All these can take India to new heights as these sectors are quite promising. For the ‘Renovation and Rejuvenation of Higher Education’ we really need to spend lot of money on research and innovation. We should now gradually move from pure ‘Business Management’ to ‘Integrated Knowledge Management’.

Q: The report calls for setting up of a National Commission for Higher Education and Research’ (NCHER). How will it impact the management education sector?

A: NCHER can surely be a very bold and important step towards recreating a strong base for education. If business schools are given autonomy, they will use it to develop new knowledge based courses with industry tie-ups. This will help decreasing the present gap between industry and management education sector. The sector will surely benefit a lot and there will be more freedom to players in this vital space.

Q: The report also calls for a review of ‘Deemed Universities’ that are mushrooming in recent times. What’s your view?

A:The Yah Pal Committee has expressed its strong reservations on the quality of the education imparted by the Deemed Universities. The committee believes that most of these universities lack quality education and research. The committee is concerned by the exclusive growth in this sector.

Q: In your view, if implemented, what impact will this have on management education sector?

A: Broadly the report makes a refreshing departure in suggesting several bold measures like becoming more facilitative in nature. In its place the committee has recommended one single body which will largely oversee the quality of academic inputs. In the field of management education the committee believes in granting autonomy and freedom for Indian Institutes to have tie-ups with foreign universities as well as permitting free entry to foreign business schools. This suggestion will open doors for free interaction with the best business schools in the world for the benefit of Indian students. 

Q: What is your feedback and suggestions to Ministry of HRD & Yash Pal Committee with respect to changes/reforms in management education sector?

A: The management education sector deals highly with the industry. It has been noticed in the past that ‘what industry wished for’ and ‘what business schools provided’ were at variance. This was because of the rules and regulations stilling the controlling body. This committee report can enable management education in India to attain international standards. More and more foreign tie-ups can take place.

We would like to see some allocation of funds for ‘Teachers Training programs’ for business schools. We would also like to see quality International business schools being allowed to collaborate with Indian business schools. To facilitate this, such that the students are not short changed, the norms for International business schools should be transparent and progressive. Involvement of leading business schools and institutions from all four zones of the country will be helpful in formulating such policies. In essence, while we are all striving to make management education more inclusive, it will be practically implemental only if at policy making level, the government is more inclusive in involving persons from institutions and corporate sector.