|
 The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), which owns and administers the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), plans to set up its third office in India after the US and UK. The decision comes close on the heels of the Union Cabinet approving the Foreign Educational Institutions Bill, which is expected to tick-off futher demand for GMAT. On a visit to India, David A Wilson, President and CEO, GMAC talks to Chitra Unnithan on why India is a growing market for GMAT. Edited excerpts:
What’s your thinking behind opening an office in India? India is a vibrant and exciting market for graduate management education. It brings together a culture that embraces education, a knowledge-based economy, entrepreneurial spirit and a youthful population with 50 per cent of its population under the age of 25. These are ideal conditions for the GMAT and for management education. The establishment of our office will permit us to provide far greater personal service and attention to GMAT aspirants and business schools alike. We have 17 test centres currently in India, representing an investment of about $3 million. However, we have not decided where to open the office at this point. It may be in Mumbai, Delhi or Bangalore. We are still waiting for permission from the regulatory authorities.
How do you rate the quality of management education in India?
India is home to some of the best graduate business schools in the world and I can only see a positive and exciting future. The world is recognising the high quality of Indian institutions. For example, the Indian School of Business (ISB) is ranked in the current FT top 100 business school rankings. The quality of schools and business education is one reason GMAC is establishing a presence in India. We see India as a strategic growth market for GMAT.
There has been a rise in the number of Indian MBA programmes using GMAT...
The GMAT has long been the global standard for admission to graduate schools of business. It is a standardised exam used by more than 4,700 MBA and other graduate management education programmes in almost 2,000 business schools around the world as part of the admissions process. Tests taken by citizens of India were up 7 per cent in testing year 2009, to 30,633, capping a 128 per cent increase during the past five years. As demand for MBA and other graduate management degrees has increased, so has the demand for GMAT. Many aspirants to the best programmes around the world including the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and other fine Indian programmes will take the GMAT as they also contemplate applying to programs elsewhere in the world.
What are GMAC’s expectations from the Foreign Education Bill?
This is a decision to be made by the appropriate legislative bodies in India after their deliberative processes. If enacted as we understand the Bill, there will be a number of B-schools coming to India that already mandate the GMAT.
|
|
 Asish Tilak, a software programmer with Jindal Saw, says his job is an art that’s slowly fading out. He sees fewer students with the wherewithal for programming — the once-coveted MCA, or master of computer applications course — apply for interviews these days. The three-year degree course has been upstaged by short-term, job-oriented certifications in an uncertain economic climate.
“Students these days opt for short-term certification programmes like .Net, Oracle or Cisco which provide good jobs,” he says.
Software programmers are also being edged out by professionals with engineering degrees, as outsourcing work gets more complex. The global economic slowdown saw most multinational companies cut down their IT spends, and this seems to have taken away some sheen from the MCA degree. At the same time, a sharp increase in the number of engineering colleges in the country has given students a wider choice in the form of a B Tech or a BE degree, which are preferred by employers.
“A candidate with an MCA degree might be good with programming, but when it comes to design and technical know-how, he is in a disadvantageous position compared to a BE or a B Tech degree holder,” says Pradeep Bahirwani, VP, talent acquisition, Wipro.
In such an environment, fewer students are applying for the MCA entrance test every year. Nearly 9,276 students took the entrance test in 2009, while 10,398 students had taken it in 2008.
Universities and institutes across the country are also witnessing dwindling interest in the course. There were just 29 takers for the 39 seats on offer last year at the New Delhi-based Jawaharlal Nehru University, whose MCA course is considered among the best in the country. At the National Institutes of Technology or NITs, 6,504 students appeared for the combined entrance exam in 2009, compared to 8,223 in 2008. Of the 20 NITs spread across the country, 11 offer the MCA programme, with 766 seats in all.
Another reason for the course losing its appeal is the transformation of software work in India from back-office outsourcing to the more complex “high-end” outsourcing. “One finds more product development and hardcore technical jobs being outsourced compared to plain software testing earlier,” explains Srivas Ramgopal, who works with a subsidiary of Tata Communications. Companies therefore prefer to hire people with engineering backgrounds.
Though the world’s economies are showing signs of improvement, interest levels in MCA are not likely to revive soon. “Instead of a three-year programme, MCA should be made a two-year programme to make it competitive vis-à-vis the B Tech programme. The industry considers an MCA degree equivalent to a B Tech one, whereas one takes longer to finish the MCA,” says ARKS Srinivas, director, TIME Mumbai, a coaching institute.
The top three NITs secured 30% of the students — the one in Tiruchirappalli, followed by Motilal Nehru NIT, Allahabad and NIT Warangal.
Sonajharia Minz, dean, school of computers and systems sciences at JNU and Krishna Kant, professor at the computer science and engineering department of the Motilal Nehru NIT blame the economic recession for the slump in interest among students. “Students are opting for MBA or other courses, as the IT industry has borne the brunt of the recession,” says professor Kant.
The similar trend is being replicated in colleges across Maharashtra. The occupancy rate is witnessing a sharp fall. In 2009, 5,369 candidates were admitted for 6988 seats available across 114 colleges in the State. So, about 77% of the seats were filled up in 2009, compared to 89% of the seats in 2008. Some 5,289 candidates opted for the programme from a pool of 5,908 seats in 2008. It must be noted that of the 114 colleges, 45 are under Pune University, which is one of the top universities for MCA. “Lack of placement facilities and presence of institutes in remote areas could be the reasons for such a bad show,” said an official from the Directorate of Technical Education of Maharashtra.
ARKS Srinivas, director, TIME Mumbai, a private coaching institute said that MCA as a business vertical is losing out due to fall in number of students. “Some 4,500 students will write the Integrated Common Entrance Test for MBA and MCA in Andhra Pradesh this year, whereas, previous about 6,500 students wrote the test for 60 seats,” said Srinivas.
However, the colleges offering MCA degree are considering to increase the number of seats. For instance JNU will be offering 46 seats in this schoolyear. Number of seats in Maharashtra could be risen by up to 20% this year. Seats in various NITs are also on the rise.
|
|
 Final Placements at IIM Lucknow have concluded on a high note with a total of 370 offers being made for the batch of 315. This is the largest ever graduating batch to be placed across all IIMs, till date.
The offers made include 41 Pre-Placement Offers, 123 lateral offers for higher entry placement, and 206 offers during the final placement week. A total of 121 companies participated in the placement process this year. Among the key recruiters were McKinsey and Co., Procter & Gamble, Hindustan Lever, Aditya Birla Group, Deutsche Bank, Deloitte and KPMG.
In terms of number of offers, Procter & Gamble, Goldman Sachs and Cognizant led the way, making 10 offers each. Yes Bank recruited 9 candidates, while Deloitte hired 8 candidates for its consulting profiles.
The Pre-Placement Offers extended include offers from Boston Consulting Group, JP Morgan Chase, TAS, Diageo, Agro Tech Foods, Marico, ITC and Reckitt Benckiser.
The graduating batch at IIM Lucknow brings with it rich pre-MBA background diversity and work experience - the average duration being 36 months. This prompted recruiters across industries to offer senior management roles - both Indian as well as International. The Higher Entry Placement Program, witnessed over 100 lateral offers being made to students by firms such as Olam International, Philips, Goldman Sachs, Yes Bank, Ernst & Young Dubai, Deloitte, Cognizant, Mindtree Consulting, IBM Consulting and Rediff among others.
The just-concluded Placement week saw the return of the Finance and IT sectors in a big way. Banks and Financial Sector firms have recruited in large numbers offering positions in Investment Banking, Proprietary Trading, Treasury, M & A and Global Risk Management to name a few. Prominent financial firms include Calyon Bank, Citibank, HSBC, Standard Chartered, Nomura, Kotak Securities, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and Yes Bank among many others.
Key recruiters in the sales and marketing space include Nokia, Puma, Pepsi, Cadbury and Reckitt Benckiser among others. Conglomerates such as Mahindra & Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, RPG, Essar and Siva Group were prominent recruiters. Philips, Asian Paints, and Arshiya International were firms offering Supply Chain Management profiles.
his year also saw the participation of 32 first-time recruiters such as Centrum, Microland, Pfizer, Siemens Information Systems Ltd, Suzlon, S. C. Johnson, and Thomas Cook.
Major Public Sector Undertakings continued to show interest in hiring from IIM Lucknow. Among the key recruiters were ONGC, Powergrid, NTPC and Shipping Corporation of India who offered lucrative profiles in Finance, HR and General Management.
The sheer range of profiles offered during the placement process is an indicator of the trust reposed by recruiters in the IIM Lucknow brand. With its range and diversity of background and work-experience among successive graduating batches, IIM Lucknow is confident of meeting the requirements of industry in future as well.
|
|
Hi, i introduce myself as Hemanth. I am a commerce graduate. I have completed my B.com. I am from Visakhapatnam. I have completed my B.Com from All Saints Degree College, Visakhapatnam. I am very much interested in commerce field and also my father is a charted accountant, so this has drived me to join B.Com. While doing my B.Com,i had also complete CA Inter and ICWA Inter |  |
Now, i am getting prepared for my M.Com, and CA Final. Though it is very hectic shedule for me to study all these, but i am working hard for a bright carrier. I am almost working 16 hours a day and working hard to complete my CA. Finally, my message to the students is work hard and you will achieve the results and be happy in your life.
|
|
 All is well for students with engineering background. They have not only outsmarted students from other subjects, they are also among state toppers. Most students who have excelled in CAT with 99% marks are products of BITS Pilani, MNIT and LMNIT.
Abishek Agarwal and Prakhar Agarwal both from BITS Pilani have made into the league of national toppers. "I don't think there is much difference between management and engineering as both are governed by formulas. I am looking forward to get into any of the IIMs," said an elated Abhishek. He attributed his success to the theoritical and practical training received at BITS, besides training at a coaching institute.
There's no need to keep studying and memorising pages after pages to crack the CAT code, feels Prakhar. He said he never studied more than four hours daily. He said mock tests at regular intervals are necessary to help students assess their knowledge, he added.
More than 30 engineering students from local engineering colleges have got calls from IIM's Ahmedabad, Kolkata and Chandigarh. Of the eight IIMs, results of two centres, Ahmedabad and Shillong, were declared on Sunday and Kolkata centre's announced its result on Tuesday.
Some students have fought against the tide to emerge winners. Vivek Kumar, a Hindi medium student, could hardly speak in English. He has stunned all with his outstanding performance (98.72%). "I have proved that students from other medium can also do well. Hindi-medium schools also offer quality education ," added Kumar.
Some students who did well in the mock exams and were confident of a better show were depressed after their "dismal" showing in the CAT results. Some are planning to file RTI applications to get more details about the entire evaluation process.
|
|
 The wait is finally over, for engineering students at least. The State Government and the private engineering college managements have reached an agreement on key issues of seat sharing, annual fees and subsidies at a meeting held here on Friday.
Rejecting the Government’s proposal for a single CET (Common Entrance Test) for private and government quota admissions, private managements will retain the UGET (Undergraduate Entrance Test) by COMED-K. However, the Government offered to allot seats for private colleges that choose CET as their qualifying test.
Of the key decisions, the one to increase the annual fee for government seats in private colleges — accounting for half the seats on offer — from Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 30,000 will impact students the most. They will now have to cough up an additional Rs. 20,000 for an engineering degree, that too for the subsidised government quota. This decision follows private managements’ claim of having suffered huge losses in recent years.
Further, Higher Education Minister Arvind Limbavali announced that the seat sharing arrangement, where the government and private colleges will share seats equally, will remain unchanged. But, to appease private managements, the Government will go back on last year’s arrangement where private managements provided a Rs. 10,000 subsidy for “poor and meritorious” students. This year, the amount will be reimbursed to colleges from the State exchequer. The cut-off rank for this quota is 20,000 as requested by the colleges.
Private quota
The private quota seats will continue to entail a fee up to Rs. 1.25 lakh. Mr. Limbavali requested private investors to defer opening fresh engineering colleges, given the fact that over 11,000 seats were unfilled last year.
|
|
