Teacher crunch worries IIMs

A few months ago, after getting a doctorate from IIM Ahmedabad, a research student joined Mittal Group for $2,00,000 a year. Another Ph.D student of IIM Calcutta landed a job in a UK bank for $2,50,000.

Both joined the research departments of these companies. The trend is there in other IIMs, too.

The trend spells doom for Indian Institutes of Management, which are worried about not being able to attract good faculty.

The last few years have been critical for IIMs as the boom in economy has made top companies look for experienced hands in research. “We lose four to five very good research students every year to these companies. It was just one or two a few years ago. For me, the tougher job is finding a good replacement though I have over 300 job applications,” said Bakul Dholakia, director, IIM Ahmedabad. The story is the same in most of the IIMs. “There is a shortage of 25-30 per cent in faculty in most IIMs,” said Shekhar Chaudhari, director, IIM Calcutta. The scene is slightly better in older institutes like IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Bangalore, where the shortage is between 15-20 per cent. “Problem arises when we have to start new programmes,” Dholakia said. Newer IIMs in Lucknow and Kozhikode have a higher teacher crunch.

The situation is unlikely to improve, most IIM directors say, unless the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) looses its grip over recruitment. “We are bound to follow MHRD rules and regulations on recruitment and salary for the faculty. In this we have no autonomy,” said a professor.

The IIMs, on their part, have reportedly asked the ministry to revise the guidelines for appointing faculty. “The government can stipulate the basic criteria for appointing the faculty including salary. Paying higher should be left to us. This is a way to attract good and experienced faculty back to IIMs,” said a director. IIM directors say that faculty crunch is a major reason why the MHRD was not in favour of expanding their campuses outside the present areas.

The ministry, while rejecting IIM Bangalore’s proposal to set up a campus in Singapore, had suggested that the institutes should look for providing management education in states like Bihar.