Ajit Rangnekar, the Indian School of Business's new dean, is angry.
"What is the purpose of educational institutions? Are we placement
agencies or are we educational institutions?" he asks angrily when asked
how the ISB, Hyderabad, will place its students given the grim global
economic conditions.
He believes an institution should not be judged on the basis of
placements it provides its students, but by its ability to do social
good even as it adds economic value to society.
He strongly feels the process of education has been killed in the mad
race to find a lucrative job no sooner students graduate from university.
In an interview with Prasanna D Zore, the ISB dean discusses the Indian
education system, the difficulties graduates face in the economic
slowdown and why Indian business must be bold, but different.
What are your challenges given the way your predecessor resigned?
As a human being I feel sorry that Professor Rao (M B M Rao who resigned
as the dean after the Satyam fallout; he was an independent director on
Satyam's board) had to step down. I had and continue to have enormous
respect for him.
But as a school it has had no impact on the ISB. We are continuing to
grow exactly as planned three months ago or six months ago. Our plans,
intentions and achievements are still the same. So we will go with the
Mohali campus, expansion of students and creating new centres of excellence.
How soon will the Mohali campus come up?
We are aiming for 2011, but it could be in 2012.
The ISB has increased its class to 560 students this year. How will you
overcome the challenge of giving placements to so many students given
the current economic scenario?
This is one thing we really need to start moving away from. Educational
institutions and society at large need to have a very strong debate on this.
What is the purpose of educational institutions? Are we placement
agencies or are we educational institutions?
I very strongly and passionately believe that we should not be
considered as placement agencies. Unfortunately, the only thing the
media reports about educational institutions are the salaries that our
students get. So you (the media) are using a very wrong parameter to
judge an institution.
You people emphasise the salary that one student gets from whatever
company. Is that the criteria?
Instead, the focus should be on the contribution of that educational
institution to knowledge, what is the contribution of the alumni of that
educational institution not to industry but to society at large.
Unless we don't move into those spheres we are going to get into these
wrong choices.
The job of the educational institutions is to create high quality people
who will contribute enormously to society. And that is what even we (the
educational institutions) have to start focusing on.
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