DAVV Takshila campus, Indore

If you are planning to pursue an MBA from any university in Madhya Pradesh, make sure you have three years to spare. The MBA semesters of about 200 colleges affiliated to Madhya Pradesh universities are running a good 3-6 months behind schedule for the last two years. And this means that an MBA course that normally takes two years to complete takes more than two and a half years in Madhya Pradesh! And all because the entrance exams in 2009 were conducted late followed by hectic Lok Sabha elections.

This crazy phenomenon has not only affected the summer internships but also the job opportunities (placements) of more than 22,000 students in the state. For the last two years, when the students have been completing their MBA course (sometime in September), recruiting companies have been generally full-up, having hired from other b-schools across the country much earlier in the year. Same with the summer internships by the time MP students are ready for summer internships, companies are done with their student-projects.

Complicated structure

While a tale of delays in state-run examination and elections are believed to be the main reasons for this huge mess, a complicated administrative structure put in place for MBA courses is equally responsible for the state of affairs. Besides the existence of Directorate of Technical Education (DTE) which conducts exams for professionally-run courses (like in other states), there is also a third body called Vyavasaik Pariksha Mandal (VYAPAM) which plays a crucial role in the admission process in Madhya Pradesh.

To explain the structure – VYAPAM conducts the Madhya Pradesh management entrance tests (MPMET) as per directives laid down by the Directorate of Technical Education (DTE). The role of VYAPAM ends there and the DTE then takes over the admission process which involves overseeing exam results, counselling of students and directing them to various universities (colleges), according to the scores. Counselling (which is compulsory in Madhya Pradesh) involves discussing college options with students after taking into account past academic scores and other parameters liked extra curricular activities etc.

These three bodies have to obviously match their processes to make sure the admission process is smooth and on time. In 2009, (when the present mess started), the three players were not in sync.

Blame Game

After speaking to various authorities and officials in Madhya Pradesh, PaGalGuY realised that DTE, VYAPAM and the universities/colleges have, for the last two years, only been passing the buck and done precious little to rectify the problem.

The registrars of Devi Ahilya VishwaVidyalaya (DAVV) and Barkatullah University told PaGalGuY that in 2009 the semesters got delayed for two primary reasons – MPMET exams were delayed and the state elections were also held that year around the same time as the exams. Says R.D Musalgaonkar, registrar of DAVV: The delay by VYAPAM in conducting MPMET in 2009 definitely affected the academic year of colleges that year. But what also added to the delay was the Lok Sabha elections. Both these, led to a delay in the admissions process and also the start of the academic year. Nothing was done in that year to make up the time and the delay affected the next academic year too.

Incidentally, the fourth semester of DAVV, Indore for the Batch of 2009-11 is to end in September 2011.

DAVV, Indore

Dr. V.S Bais, Public Relations Officer of Barkatullah University, Bhopal had the same reasons to cite for the delay. But we are trying to improve. We have decided to conduct the fourth semester examinations for the batch 2009-11 in the month of June this year and not September, this will help the students a little bit at least.

But VYAPAM refuses to take the blame. Its Assistant Controller, Sunil Shrivastava says that the delay in MPMET in 2009 was because there was a delay on part of the Directorate of Technical Education in laying out instructions. Since we conduct all examinations according to rules and regulations of Directorate of Technical Education, we get delayed if there is a delay from the DTE side and that is what happened that year. But we are planning to conduct examinations on time this year.

DTE however has another explanation. DTEs Deputy Director Laxminarayan Reddy says that MPMET exams are followed by counselling on the basis of merit list in MPMET and qualifying examinations. We ask for results of under graduation exams during counselling in the month of June. Last year results for undergraduate course were not declared till July. We gave an extension of 2 months but they still did not declare the under graduate results due to which our admission process for higher education got delayed. Adds Reddy: How do we conduct examinations or start admission procedures for post graduate courses if we do not have undergraduate examination results?

Ray of hope

While most b-schools are reeling under this delay, some are taking pains to recover the lost time. Jiwaji University, Gwalior, for one. DR. I.K Mansoori, Registrar of Jiwaji University, says that its colleges are committed to finishing the 4th semester examination of the 2009-2011 batch by June and start the new session for 2011-2013 batch by July. We have been finishing our semesters on time for the last one year now. One way of doing it was we curtailed our holidays and semester breaks and made up the classes.

Student Speak

Students who are the worst affected of the lot have begun to reconcile to their fate. Ankit Agrawal, 2nd year student of Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya (DAVV) says: Ideally my MBA school should have finished by May but my fourth semester exam will end only in September. DAVV students are forced, either to join companies before completing their MBA semesters or let go of job offers. Adds Ankit: I will join my company in July, though my semester will end in September. I will ask for 15-days off from work to appear for my exams in September, though I am sure with that kind of preparation, I will not score good marks.

Anchal Goyal

Anchal Goyal, another 2nd-year DAVV student says that he will anyway not wait for the placements in his school and opt for his family business. The placements are not so great here. Besides, we stand to lose in the quality of offers when compared to students from autonomous institutes who finish their academic year in May and are ready to take up job offers that come to them on time.

Mohammad Shamim, a 1st year student of Barkatullah University (batch of 2010-11) has a similar sorry story to tell. “Our second semester will end in September this year. We started in April, we studied for just one month and then were asked to go on our summer internship. Which means in my first semester, I hardly got any classroom training and this affected my summer internship.”

Alumni of both DAVV and Barkatullah universities who passed out before the series of delays, are a relieved lot. Says Hitesh Singh, an alumni of DAVV (batch of 2005-07): We were lucky. When I completed my MBA in 2007, my exams were delayed by just a month. Exams were supposed to get over in June and I was supposed to join my company in July. I asked for joining date in August as my exams got over only in July. The company had to delay the induction program and joining dates of an entire batch of new joinees only because of me. My batch mates still remember that delay. But delay of a month was still better than the situation today.

Hitesh Singh

Get autonomy

Autonomous managements institutes in Madhya Pradesh are least affected by the present mess. Those that were under DAVV before and now autonomous believe they made the right move to get autonomy. Professor Yogeshwari Phatak, Director of Prestige Institute of Management and Research, an autonomous institute in Madhya Pradesh says, We were affiliated to DAVV till 2005. We have seen our share of delays earlier. Lack of staff to check copies and delay in conducting examinations led to various kinds of delays and this finally affected the students more than anyone else.