“There is a general tendency especially among the intellectual elites to think that IIT and IIM are the cats whiskers and they are doing a great job, right? Sorry Subra our institute is doing a far better job”

– so said one person who has been (well almost) responsible for more than 3000 people going around the country with an MBA degree. This is a 10 year old organisation and is run by a couple of well qualified and good human beings.

When I probed a little further he was telling me how students from low end homes (carpenter, plumber, cobbler, landless labourer – kids from such background) are now holding good, high well paying jobs in Europe, Gulf and of course India. I have personally met and interacted with about 20-25 of his students – and can vouch that 4-5 were really good, and are doing well professionally.

He was telling me how important a job he was doing – largely because the schooling and college education were not really delivering enough. Right from giving kids from non urban India the confidence to attend interviews, talk confidently to strangers, arranging events – surely it is hard work.

One story really stood out – and hence the blog – was that of a girl who came up to the Trustee and said ‘Sir I have passed the exam, but my father is a ……….and we do not have the money to pay for my education’. The trustee just looked at the girl’s face and said “Ok kid, I will sponsor you, just join for free’. Even as I write this, I am getting goose bumps….

Yes principal I agree. We have lived for too long thinking that the governments pet institutions are doing a great job. I was wrong.

There are many, many colleges polishing smart boys and girls – and creating diamonds from the bottom of the pyramid. There is no better way to come out of a caste, creed, social stigma oriented society.

Creating jobs for the well qualified people is easy.

I think we should be thankful for the honest education entrepreneurs creating ’employable’ MBAs for the growing country – especially in the 2nd and 3rd rung cities. We should also be thankful for the entrepreneurs who are creating jobs – like Spicejet, Jet Airways, Pantaloon, all banks ……because India is not in its IIT and IIM…they are in the mid level engineering and mba colleges.

Just a different way of looking at things, I guess.

  1. Those who get into IIM’s are least risk taking fellows.
    Entry in IIM ensures a plum job.
    Even those who chose to become Entrepreneur can sit next year placements in case they fail.

    Did I forget that they can take huge risk to clients money

  2. Different perspective…

    Shouldn’t we rank institutes based on what difference it made to the local country & society than how many well qualified MBA’s & Engineer’s it produced!!!

    No doubt, IIM and IIT gets the cream within in the country then its not a miracle that they all would be doing well in their respective professions and careers. So does many other professional institutes produce such individuals. Government spends tax payer money and provides the best facilities to these institutes only to see majority of individuals would take a high paying job abroad. Only handful of individuals would turn to be entrepreneurs or would PREFER to work in the country…

    Not sure we should be proud of such a scenario!!!

  3. It is not just a different perspective, but you touched a very important issue, Subra. The entire concept of higher education, especially the IITs and IIMs, has become elitistic not in terms of affordability, but in promoting an intellectualistic arrogance. There is an exclusivity that is cultivated during the course of this education and the I, me, myself syndrome is potentially nurtured. While this has nothing to do with the candidates themselves, however when they join the course, they invariably get into a rat race and most get into plum jobs abroad. Surely, there is a case for the institutes and the Government to consider whether the amount spent in tutoring them with skills is helping the country in some way and how best to utilize their abilities to contribute to the nation’s growth.

  4. every IITian is being subsidized by my maid/driver -who pays indirect taxes on everything they buy while struggling to give their children a decent education.thats a single line argument which is sufficient to appeal to any reasonable person that these entities are an example of subsidizing the rich by the poor.

    opportunity costs are unfamiliar to socialist planners and redistributionists

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