By Dilasha Seth:
“I want to become an MBA”, is the astonishing reply from a class four student, when asked, what he wants to become when he grows up. He is not to be blamed for this confusion between a course and a profession. It’s the MBA cult wave which has hit everyone these days. The coaching centres for MBA entrance are mushrooming in every nook and corner of the country. And all these money-gobbling centres echo similar claims – “your road to IIMs”, “Your first step towards MBA”, “The stepping stone to IIMs”, etc. It’s as if there is no career sans MBA and IIMs.
It’s not only youngsters, but also parents who are forcing their wards to do an MBA.
“I am in the final year of my engineering, and taking MBA coaching from Career Launchers. Life is hectic, but for a career have to do this hardwork”, says a DCE student. Engineering is a career in itself, then why MBA. It baffles me.
What is MBA? It is just a management course. And management is a trait that you are born with. The glaring examples are for the world to see. The founder of Reliance Industries, Late Dhirubhai Ambani, did not even clear his class 10th, but his management skills have become a topic of study by these so called MBA institutes. Steel baron Lakshmi Mittal is another example who set up the empire of Mittal Steels through mergers and acquisitions without getting that “prestigious” degree. And the list is endless.
Though, the six IIMs are considered ultimate, various private universities and institutes are coming up with MBA as a course. It has become bread and butter for them. Institutes like IIPM and Amity are offering free laptops and world tours as you enroll. GD Goenka B-School has the 5-Star facilities lined up for you. Is it a shopping complex, giving freebies on your every purchase?
While “thinking beyond engineering” should be a conscious choice, the choice of a career should be based on aptitude as much as on interest.
“I did my MBA two- years back and still searching for a job. I think I’d have to satisfy myself with a call-centre job only”, says a disappointed Jayant Sharma, who spent 15 lakh on this course.
The reason is clear. The supply of MBA graduates is in excess of what the industry can absorb.
Students should not blindly go along the tide and do this course (not profession, I repeat), or fall in the trap of these businessmen running business centres rather than imparting education. There is nothing wrong in doing an MBA, but definitely there is, if you’re doing it without realizing your aptitude or talent.