MBA in India is characterized with several systemic shortcomings resulting in continuously graduating unemployable manpower in an increasing number of sectors.

The standards of academic research are low and declining. Some of the issues of the Indian management education are

• Affiliating system not matching the global standards
  
• Non dynamic academic structure
  
• Uneven capacity across various subjects
  
• Low level of public funding
  
• The standards of academic research are low and declining.
  

Many other concerns are related to the dysfunctional regulatory environment, the accreditation system that has low coverage and characterized with absence of incentives for performing well and the unjust public funding policies. There are genuine concerns about many of private institutions being substandard and exploitative. Due to the government’s ambivalence on the role of private sector in MBA, the growth has been chaotic and unplanned. The regulatory system has not maintained standards or check exploitation. Instead, it resulted in erecting formidable entry barriers that generate undesirable rents. Voluntary accreditation seems to have no takers from amongst private providers and apparently serves little purpose for any of its stakeholders. Despite, its impressive growth, MBA in India could maintain only a very small base of quality institutions at the top. Standards of the majority of the Institutions are poor and declining. There are a large number of small and non-viable Institutions. Entry to the small number of quality institutions is very competitive giving rise to high stake entrance tests and a flourishing private tuition industry. The stakes are so high that quota-based reservation of seats in such institutions in the name of affirmative action has come to occupy centre stage in electoral politics. Despite some merit, it has resulted in fragmentation of merit space and further intensified competition for the limited capacity in quality institutions. While public funding declined (in real terms), enrolments in MBA institutions grew to meet the surge in demand. This further deteriorated academic standards. As a result, the institutions were forced to raise their tuition fees to sustain themselves. Emergence of private providers and increase in tuition fees in public institutions without any substantial programme for students’ financial aid has made MBA beyond the reach of the poor. The paper discusses feasible strategies to overcome this and make MBA affordable and accessible to all. This paper takes a comprehensive look at the various facets of MBA in India. It adopts a systems approach for achieving policy coherence and multi-level coordination required to address genuine concerns about management education in India. 

Download complete report: Report On centralization of MBA