The Astronomical Cost of Management Education in India

Today the Indians are proud of having a number of high quality business schools in their country – IIMs, XLRI, ISB, IBS, etc. Lots of Indian youths are gaining degrees/diplomas in their chosen fields from these institutes, and are making their marks in the Indian as well as global corporate scenario.

But there is a hitch, and that is the astronomical cost one has to face for studying in these institutes. Most of these institutes (if not all) charge fees that are well beyond the capacity of middle class parents. And so while some parents have to go out of their way to pay the fees of their children’s dream management education, some parents have to completely back out, with a heavy heart of course.

I got a taste of the plight of these hapless parents, when one of my close friend's (he also stays in Delhi) sister-in-law got selected for an MBA program of IBS, Hyderabad. Apart from their main campus in Hyderabad, IBS also conducts their programs from two campuses in Gurgaon (a satellite town of Delhi) and Kolkata. My friend's sister-in-law got selected for the Kolkata campus.

So far it was OK. But now came the real blow. Because now came the time for paying the fee. And what is the amount? It is Rs. 7 lakhs. Yes, you have read it right.

As of today, my friend's father-in-law is running from pillar to post to arrange for the money. He has applied for a loan from Punjab National Bank. And he is tired of fulfilling all the formalities. Now the entire family has only one worry – how to arrange for the money.

My friend's father-in-law had this cherished wish that his daughter would enroll for a Management program conducted by a prestigious institute. This dream has come true. But with such a price, that he may be considering it to be his nightmare now.

Shouldn’t the Indian government think about the problem? Hope they will take some steps to ensure that management education (and other job-oriented programs as well) remain within the capacity of the middle class students. That will be a much better way to serve the Indian student society, rather than going for steps like caste-based reservations in prestigious institutes.

Deaths Caused By Irresponsible Celebratory Firings At Wedding Ceremonies in North India - Where Is The End?

In yet another incident of unfortunate death caused by irresponsible celebratory firing at wedding ceremony in north India, a 14 year old boy attending a wedding ceremony was killed when another invitee, allegedly drunk, accidentally fired at him. The accused was firing in the air to celebrate the occasion, when accidentally a bullet hit the boy, killing him on the spot. The incident took place on 24th February at Ghaziabad, a satellite town of Delhi.

While the incident is extremely painful, what aggravates the pain is the sheer callousness shown by the police (and other concerned agencies) in controlling such incidents. The incident is just a fresh example of an ongoing list of similar incidents in northern India. Just few days back there took place another such incident, in Ghaziabad itself, when a guest was killed by a stray bullet – resulting from celebratory firing – while attending a wedding ceremony. A couple of years back Noida, another satellite town of Delhi, was shocked with the incident of the groom himself being killed by a stray bullet resulting from celebratory firing. And there have been many other examples which I cannot recall right now.

But the police is absolutely indifferent and callous. Everytime one such incident takes place, media and common people come up with sharp criticism, strongly appealing to the police to take strict corrective measures. The police shows a temporary activeness. And that is all. Within few days we find the old picture is back.

Anti-Smoking Campaigns

I always take interest in social campaigns/social responsibility ads, aimed at achieving various purposes like educating the mass about a disease, motivating people for behaving in a socially responsible manner in some context, etc. And an area of social campaigns that I like to track is the one dealing with anti-smoking campaigns.

For last few days a thought has been there in my mind. All the anti-smoking campaigns appeal to smokers for quitting smoking completely. And I feel this explains why these campaigns have not been that successful. After all, it is tough for any person to give up a bad habit that he has long been addicted to. This is true even in the cases of those bad addictions which are much more harmful than smoking. People know that the habit is harmful, but just cannot give it up. And ultimately all the anti-smoking campaigns turn into damb squibs.

What I feel, the anti-smoking campaigners should make some strategic changes in their campaign style. Instead of asking smokers to completely give up smoking – which is near impossible – they should rather motivate them to reduce the number of cigarettes they smoke every day. And while making this appeal, the campaigners should highlight this fact that by reducing the number of cigarettes per day a smoker can not only reduce the gravity of harm that results from smoking, but can also even completely avoid any sort of harmful effects.

I may be wrong, but I personally feel this may have a positive effect on anti-smoking campaigns. After all, no person loves to damage his own health. It is only their failure to overcome addictions that makes them continue with the smoking habit. But if they find that by reducing the number of cigarettes they can maintain a balance between their addiction and health interests, then they are very much likely to respond positively.

Revival of Democracy in Pakistan. But Does That Guarantee A Better Governance?

The general election in Pakistan has dethroned the ruling establishment, paving the way for the revival of "democratic" political parties. It is certainly a great news for all democracy loving people not only in Pakistan, but all over the world.

But there is one key question that nobody can afford to overlook. Does the revival of "democratic parties" necessarily guarantee a good governance? It is a harsh fact that the record of elected Pakistani leaders has not been very bright, with almost everybody's tenure being marred by corruption, nepotism, etc. The same is true about the tenures of Nawaz Sharif and Late Benezir Bhutto, whose parties have been in the forefront in the recent "fight" against Musharraf's dictatorship. In fact, when army had taken over in 1999 under Musharraf, there was huge jubilation among common Pakistanis in various parts of the country, as they had become tired of the misrule of so called popularly elected leaders.

Anyways, the revival of democratic rule is always welcome. Let us hope that the democratic political parties will now make a proper use of the opportunity granted to them by the common Pakistanis, the opportunity to run the country, and will drive their country towards all round prosperity. Our best wishes for them.