Has Pandemic made MBA less attractive?

 

The Indian government announced on 24 March that it will lockdown nationally until April 14, which was later extended till 3 May. A lot of B-School campuses across India shut down their campuses as a preventive measure, following the government's order to close all educational institutions. Many government and private B-schools postponed courses, semester exams, convocation, and rounds of group discussion & personal interview.

The uncertainty over the next two years about securing internships and jobs has affected the decision of many aspirants to delay their plans. The pandemic has interrupted the plans of many young people who expect to attend B-school this year in India and abroad. For the fall semester schools expect a less diverse community. Embassies and consulates are closed, so the issuing of visas has come to a halt. Airplanes are grounded across the globe which means study trips are cancelled which is a major part of MBA hence, many schools will switch to national and regional students to compensate for the global mobility disruption.

Most are worried about the effectiveness of the programme, considering the extent of the social and economic damage done by Covid-19. Leading B - schools in India are unfazed by the ongoing economic downturn. However, the middle and lower ranking B-schools have taken on a big hit, especially in terms of placements, which rely on sales jobs involving travel.

Some B-schools have changed their course length and teaching method to respond to the transition. Indian School of Business (ISB) restructured its curriculum and went through the lockdown online for two months, and reducing semesters from five hybrid models to four weeks as not all students will be able to attend on-campus classes when they begin. It also offers them the chance to reach out to a larger pool of leading foreign faculty and industry leaders. Many students are not happy about this and feel that online classes do not justify the high fees and whether online education can match the quality of personal education with job prospect has made MBA a devalued asset among MBA aspirants.

Campus experience and networking are key aspects of selecting an institute. The networking is a big part of an MBA course. If institutes invite business leaders for guest lectures, students get a chance to interact with the person. If it's online then it’s not possible to interact with everyone. Those seeking to join a business school are also wondering whether it would be useful to have an MBA degree given the changing business landscape. Managing digital and remote jobs would also be needed further. 

It is a phenomenon that has been going on for some time, but Covid-19 has significantly paced it up Many organisations now feel that they need a greater awareness of how to manage and maintain connections and communication from a distance. MBA degree is seen valuable by millions of Indians every year. Not only is it a chance at a better pay, the degree is a gateway to switch career but the reputation of the school, what's being taught, the alumni network and the kind of companies that knock at the door during campus placements also matters a lot.

The pandemic impact and the slow employment market has affected long tail of mediocre B-schools which is now facing a crisis. Campus placements typically take place between December and April, due to the lockdown, many management institutes either stalled or left the placement phase unfinished by 2020. Many Tier II and III B-schools are now struggling to place their student's, pandemic has thrown the schedule and plans of business school students into total disarray.

Anticipating a slump in the economy due to the spread of Covid-19 summer internships of many b-school students has been postponed, cancelled or cut short from eight weeks to six weeks some of them have gone online this will impact the final placement of 2021. Compared to the last placement season, the average salary offer is up 7-15 percent in top B-schools but the scenario for Tier II and III B-schools is totally different. Online delivery of content is a new beast and professors are ill-prepared. Schools need to revisit what they are teaching as well as develop new content, as business models has experienced drastic changes in last two months.

Every business at the moment is building a new cost model and new level of efficiency in operations by inducting more technology which should be taught by B-Schools and if they are not including such things in their curriculum then they will surely be left behind.

“Schools needs to focus on skills such as creativity, crisis management, conflict management, empathy, leadership, strategic thinking, understanding technological progress, disruption, problem solving, and dynamic decision making to make an impact on the market”.

At last i will like to conclude by saying, MBA is valuable to those who want to learn to manage in complex environments. The more students are willing to learn and grow, the more they will get out of their experience.