Preference rises for Indian b-schools

Between 2006 and 2010, the proportion of Indian students preferring management institutes in India over those in the US has risen, according to a survey by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC).

And, the percentage preferring a US B-school over an Indian one has fallen significantly.

The Asian Geographic Trend survey report released by GMAC says while the number of Indian students applying to US institutes through GMAT scores fell from 71 per cent in 2006 to 55 per cent in 2010, Indian students sending their GMAT scores to institutes in India rose from 9 per cent to 14 per cent.

GMAC is an association of leading global business schools and owns the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT). Four Indian B-schools, including Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai and Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, are members of GMAC.

“One of the primary reasons for Indian students opting for Indian B-schools is that more number of institutes are starting one-year management programmes. The numbers could go up further, with institutes increasing the sizes of their batches in the future,” said Samir Barua, director, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A). IIM-A runs a one-year post graduate programme in management for executives, with a batch size of around 100 students. “The institute may look at increasing the batch size in the future, as the programme establishes itself,” Barua said.

In the last five years, the number of institutions in India using GMAT scores to select management graduates has increased by 207 per cent. As of January 2011, GMAT scores were accepted by 43 Indian institutions, representing 96 programmes.

The survey also points out the number of GMAT exams taken by Indian students fell by 13 per cent in 2010, compared to 2009. However, despite the decline, India received the highest number of GMAT scores from students in Asia. The number of Asians appearing for GMAT exams rose from 58 per cent in 2006 to 77 per cent in 2010.