BT Best B-Schools 2024: Despite placement challenges, management education in India offers much to celebrate

The 12th edition of the BT-MDRA annual ranking of business schools notably lacks a few top B-schools. The reason was surprising—a pessimistic scenario stemming from poor placements that could impact their credibility. Overall, the year has been topsy-turvy for B-schools. First, some news to cheer about:

More aspirants for Indian MBAs: In 2023, more than 330,000 candidates registered for the Common Admission Test (CAT), a 30% increase from the previous year, and a record. On the contrary, applications for B-school programmes across the world declined 8.3% during the past two years, per the Graduate Management Admission Council, a global association of B-schools. This demonstrates increased confidence in MBAs from India’s top B-schools.

Higher intake and admissions into top MBA colleges: Higher admissions into top MBA colleges reflect the optimism about Indian MBAs. The Top 100 B-schools’ intake increased 15% for the academic year 2023-24. Some IIMs have also increased their intakes.

The value of an MBA degree is on the rise: The percentage of senior leaders hired annually with an MBA degree has increased 25% globally since 2010, per a recent report by professional networking platform LinkedIn. In fact, the number of entrepreneurs with an MBA degree has increased 45% over the same period.

MBAs most employable: The India Skills Report 2024 says MBA degree-holders are the most employable across states; the employability of MBA students was 71.16%, considerably higher than other disciplines.

Other positive developments:

Better diversity: The gender diversity (ratio) among the Top 100 B-schools has improved to an all-time high of 1.5 last year. Even the ratio of engineering to non-engineering students in the Top 25 B-schools improved to 50:50 from 84:16 a decade ago.

More MDPs: The Top 100 B-schools have reported a 26% increase in the numbers of management development programmes (MDPs) and a 29% increase in revenues, reflecting renewed corporate interest and budgetary allocation for management programmes.

Improved quality of faculty: Qualifications (95% of permanent faculty have a PhD), industry, and teaching experience of faculty at the Top 25 B-schools have improved significantly, per the latest objective data.

Higher revenues: The total course fees (tuition and other fees) have increased 12.5% for the Top 25 B-schools. This, coupled with increased intake resulting in higher revenues, would help improve infrastructure and attract more qualified faculty.

International accreditation: As many as 31 Top B-schools in the country now have AACSB, AMBA, or EQUIS international accreditations (any one or more), reflecting the quality of Indian B-schools.

Enhanced international footprint: Recently, S.P. Jain Group acquired California Miramar University to open its sixth global campus in the US. This may encourage other Indian B-schools to set up campuses in similar locations.

International rankings: As many as 14 Indian B-schools found place among the Top 100 in FT’s business school ranking this year, up from 11 in 2023. Further, eight Indian B-schools ranked in LinkedIn’s 2024 Top 100 MBA programmes for career outcomes, particularly for networking. The enhanced international reputation would aid Indian B-schools and their alumni.

Launch of online MBA by IIM Ahmedabad: Earlier this year, IIM Ahmedabad launched an online MBA for working executives, which is welcome news for those who wanted an MBA degree from an IIM, without leaving jobs. Several IIMs may follow.

While cheering on the good news, it is important to reflect on some sour stories and trends of this year.

Poorer placements: Placement is undoubtedly the most important barometer of MBA-admission decision making. The placements of MBA batch 2022-24 were dismal, even at the top B-schools, including many IIMs.

Average salaries declined: The average salary offered for domestic placements in the Top 25 B-schools dropped nearly 5% to Rs 22.7 lakh from Rs 23.88 lakh in 2023. The decline was to the extent of 15% in a few cases.

Extended placement season: Some leading B-schools failed to get 100% campus placements, despite extended placement sessions. This year, several B-schools extended their placement season multiple times.

Highest offers plummeted: The highest salaries offered at many B-schools have significantly decreased compared to previous years, affecting not only regular MBAs but also executive MBAs.

Lesser international placements: International placements got a big jolt at several campuses, both in terms of the number of offers and the salary packages offered.

In fact, many B-schools were seen leveraging their alumni networks aggressively to secure placements for the outgoing batch. Considering placement is a key reason for students to go in for management studies, this may hurt the MBA’s appeal in India.

Lower ROI (return on investments): ROI has declined significantly as the average salary packages offered have decreased and course fees have increased. This has hampered students’ repayment capabilities for education loans. In fact, RBI’s recent concern about the rising NPA for education loans confirms this fact.

Closure of courses: The past two years have seen the discontinuation of 111 AICTE-approved and hundreds of non-regulated management courses. Due to low demand, some executive programmes, even by IIMs and the top B-schools, have been terminated.

Overall, management education is undergoing rapid transformation and experimentation. Artificial intelligence, technological advancements, sustainability concerns versus consumerism—these factors will only accelerate the speed of experimentation, failures and transformations. The tough competition could benefit students, recruiters and academia, as institutes offering subpar management education are likely to shut down. Top quality Indian MBA colleges have tremendous scope to grow—both in attracting domestic students and in competing on a global scale for international aspirants. 

Views are personal. The author is Executive Director, MDRA  (Marketing & Development  Research Associates)