Dear Students,
LAST WEEK WE ASKED: Do you think fee waiver should be made mandatory for B-schools to help economically backward students?
BEST RESPONSE
Fee waivers would not only bring a sigh of relief for many deserving students but also a ray of hope and motivation for many. But the challenge for the B-schools is to clearly and correctly identify the criteria of for the waiver, because of the immense variation in the fee structure across the nation. This makes the economic inability of a student a relative concept. If this challenge is subjugated, fee waiver would be welcomed by all management aspirants.
-- Rhiva Singh, IBS Gurgaon.
OTHER RESPONSES
Fee waiver should be mandatory for B-schools but not for the economically backward students. There are many students who are denied higher studies in B-schools just because of financial constraints. This does not mean economically backwards who are not financially sound should be denied of this benefit. The point to be strictly followed should be the financial strength of the student. The support given by way of fee waiver should benefit the financially challenged and not the filthy rich who do not deserve it.
-- Karnan P. Paulson, ICAI, Kochi.
It's difficult for students belonging to middle class families to afford a B-school without a loan, let alone economically backward students. A mandatory fee waiver to such students will not only provide support to their families but will also benefit B-schools by providing them a bigger pool of talent. It’s better to provide a poor but deserving student rather than providing for undeserving students based merely on their communities. Such waivers will provide equal opportunities to all students in real sense and will be a correct means to insure a growth towards a less divided India.
-- Neha Singh, IBS Gurgaon.
Fee waiver should be given to those who 'fall under economically backward student category'. There are so many potential students who can't afford fees to study in top ranks B-schools in India. As a result, those potentials remain constant and can't get the proper nutrition (knowledge and experience) to grow much more. Students belonging to backward classes by availing such facility can achieve more and such facility is also a big help to the parents. Students will feel less financial burden and they can freely concentrate on their academics. So, it should be given to economically backward student.
-- Vishal Vijayan, IBS Ahmedabad.
Many eligible students do not go for higher studies like MBA because of exorbitant fees. So providing a relief in monetary term is very good option for them. But waiving the fee could be a major step. B-school can give the option to payback the fees after joining the job. Because of that student also take studies seriously and chances of having dispute among other people also stop. The major task is selecting right candidate for such a precious option.
-- Manish Kumar K Gupta, IBS Mumbai.
IIM-A said that it educated 41 students for free in 2009-10. Definitely it was free for IIM because the burden of fee waived, was borne by remaining students in form of fee hike. Fee waiver is not borne by the institutions but is passed on to other students who manage to get fund through loans and other means. But in the end everyone gets same opportunity to sit for placements but while one has everything at stake the other nothing. Instead there should be a contractual agreement between the institutes and economically backward students to repay their fees when they earn.
-- Anoop Periwal, IBS Mumbai.
The amount of fees charged by premier B-schools including the IIMs is simply unaffordable for students from modest family backgrounds. One may argue that education loans for premier institutions are available without any mortgage. But such is not the case with some lower ranked B-schools, both government and private. Also, loan discourages entrepreneurship as students have to take up jobs to pay EMIs. At this stage, even the current 'need based scholarship schemes' at different IIMs have different income criteria for granting a fee waiver. This should be standardised across government institutions to bring parity.
-- Dhaval Thakkar, IIM Kozhikode.
The students with financially poor background are the only ones who realize the importance of a fee waiver. Without it there would be no scope for them to reach their dream college even though they may be more talented than the selected candidates.Also admission to B-schools in India is not so cheap, for any below average person to easily afford it. So, fee waiver should be made mandatory for B-schools not only to help economically weaker students but also for the benefit of the country.As otherwise it would only be a loss of talent to the country.
-- Shivam Chhabra, Integral University, Lucknow.
Fee waiver should be made compulsory for under privileged students as many of them fail to make it to their dream campuses for want of finance. Instead of reserving seats for students ,which in many cases the students dont need as they come from affluent background, the primary focus should be on the family income. If a student's family income is less than Rs 1.5 -2.0 lakh/year, he/she should be made eligible for a fee waiver. This might even create a wave and help to abolish reservation system which is being misused.
-- Saurabh Saxena, IBS Mumbai.
While economically backward students could realize their dreams, fees need not be waived but could be sponsored by Government/Government banks/companies/large tax payers. Government could give an option for large companies or large tax payers to waive the sponsored amount in the tax. In this case, corporates have an added advantage by sponsoring such students by providing employment to them upon completion of their programme as well as save taxes.
-- Divya Srinivasan, IBS Bengaluru.
To promote higher education at the lowest level, B-schools should mandate fee waiver to help and motivate economically backward students. Poverty is becoming hereditary in India, at least for a sizeable population and if youth are not well educated, then country growth is at stake. In India majority of people are not financially sound and with the increasing fees of B-schools, they cannot afford for higher education and remain incompetent. Not only B-schools but even banks can provide some facilities like education loan at low rates to support economically backward students.
-- Chirag Kriplani, IBS Mumbai.
Implementation of fee waiver at B-schools will come only in fruition when students from economically weaker societies participate in these programs. The entrance examination fee, college form fee are also a matter of concern for these students. Also the numbers of students eligible to B-schools are puny. Hence government of India must run some program to educate weaker societies to let their children go for higher studies. Scholarships, funds and other help at school and graduation level must be provided to ease financial burden.
-- Sandeep Guleria, IBS Gurgaon.
The prime reason why bright student from economically weaker section don't prepare for MBA is high fee. Once the fee waiver is made mandatory for B-school more and more bright student from economically weaker will start joining the course. This will bring multitude of benefit to the course as it will bring great diversity in the class as then there will be student in the class who will in reality be grounded to the grass root. This will greatly help to solve many of the convoluted socio-economic problems which India faces now days.
-- Nilaya Mitash Shanker, IIT Roorkee.
Putting the burden on the shoulder of educational institutions to provide cheap education by means of fee waiver for poor students might not be an effective and the right step. Such a step might serve the purpose to an extent but at the cost of quality of the education. Also, the effectiveness of such a system can not be guaranteed. Instead, the government should directly fund the education of poor students, being the most responsible and capable body.
-- Kushal Bhadani, IBS Mumbai.
The B-school are generally known for the quality of the education they provide. To maintain these quality of education, the B-school had to spend tremendously on the infrastructure, faculties training and other attributes too and these funds are sourced by students fees. If the fee waiver is made mandatory, then there will be a deterioration in the quality of the B-school. In order to support the backward students, the B-school can run scholarship program and provide other financial aids too.
-- Harsh Mehta, St. Kabir Institute of Professional Studies, Ahmedabad.
Your responses should reach us at edu@business-standard.com by Monday evening every week. Please ensure that your responses do not exceed 100 words. Avoid attachments and email your full name, institute's name, batch and complete mailing address. The student who gives the 'Best Response' will be awarded Rs 500.
THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: Do you think inviting business houses to set up higher education institutions in India will help better the higher education scenario?
