University to halve MBA seats

PUNE, May 15: The University of Pune's Department of Commerce and Management Sciences has proposed to reduce the intake of students for its ...

PUNE, May 15: The University of Pune’s Department of Commerce and Management Sciences has proposed to reduce the intake of students for its MBA programme from 180 to 90 from the next academic year. A two-member committee examining the feasibility of such a proposal will submit their report at the university’s management council meeting on May 25.

Dr Sharad Joshi, head, Department of Commerce and Management Sciences, when contacted, said that he had submitted a proposal to the university either to reduce the number of students as a short-term measure or then provide the infrastructure on par with management institutions like IIMs.

“Both in terms of placement record and academic commitment, the university’s MBA programme is rated highly by students with even Business India allotting the department the 23rd slot among 400 institutions,” Joshi said however urging that there was room for improvement.

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We admit 180 students plus 10 per cent foreign students. This is too big a number to offer personalised, high quality education and further it forces us to devote disproportionate amount of effort for placement at the cost of academics, Joshi said. Also given the large batch size we are not able to meet the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) norms for space and size of permanent faculty, he added.

“The only way out is either to provide the required facilities according to AICTE norms – a separate building with built up space upto 20,000 sq ft and double the size of the present full time faculty of seven – or then reduce the intake of students to a more manageable size,” Joshi averred. He however said that a two-acre plot of land has been sanctioned with a small budget of Rs 10 lakh to start the construction of an independent building.

While Joshi has submitted the financial implications of the reduced batch size, he has suggested that a small part of the revenue loss could be made up by introducing evening diploma courses. A committee of management council members Dr Bhushan Patwardhan and advocate Sureshchandra Bhosale are examining the proposal.

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