The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development has indicated that it may allow the premier Indian Institutes of Technology and Indian Institutes of Management to set up campuses in foreign countries once they improve their faculty positions.
The ministry had said it may not be immediately feasible for the IITs and IIMs to open campuses abroad as they are facing faculty shortages and have to undertake 54 per cent expansion in their intake to implement the other backward class quota.
"Setting up of campuses abroad may further strain the IITs' limited manpower and other resources. Also, various memoranda of association of the IIMs will need to be amended because they do not empower them to open campuses abroad," Minister of State for education D Purandeswari recently told Rajya Sabha members.
The government, one may recall, had turned down a proposal of IIM Bangalore to open a campus in Singapore.
The HRD Ministry did not agree to the proposal on grounds that the Memorandum of Association of IIM, Bangalore, does not empower the institute to open campuses abroad.
IIMs, however, remain optimistic. "We would like to go abroad with the intention of spreading our name if the government permits us. IIMs are the leaders of education in the country and should be allowed to set campuses in developing countries. I think it was a missed opportunity for the IIMs as there is a huge potential out there," says IIM-Ahmedabad Director Samir Barua.
Among developing countries, the IIMs favour the Middle East, Malaysia and Africa as these are the growing economies. Barua explained that IIM alumni and visiting faculty can be of help in manning the courses and that will also ensure the quality of delivery.
"Faculty is a problem but they should not be paid what they are paid here and the students also should not be charged the same fee as here," added Singh.
Some directors of these premier institutes, however, say caution must be exercised when going about this issue.
"All IIMs look at this as a possibility as international presence will add to the brand. But I don't think that it's a lost opportunity as so much is there to be done here. Moreover, the IIMs are not in the business of generating revenue," reasons Devi Singh, Director of IIM Lucknow.
IIT-Delhi's director Surendra Prasad concurs that such proposals need be thought about as there are many people in the country whose education is not being catered to. "If we set up a campus abroad then we should know the reason for doing it. What do we expect after such a decision? So, we should not jump to the conclusion of opening a campus before thinking seriously about it," he adds.
Incidentally, prominent B-schools like the Xaviers Labour Relations Institute, Institute of Management Technology and S P Jain Institute of Management and Research already have a presence on foreign shores.
One of the early birds, XLRI had established its first campus in Dubai in 2001 where it began offering an executive education programme in collaboration with the Al Abbas Institute of Technology.
IMT, on its part, established its first foreign campus in Dubai in September 2006 and received a license from the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research to offer higher educational degrees. It offers an accredited MBA programme and Executive education to companies operating in the UAE.
At S P Jain's foreign campuses in Dubai, Toronto and Singapore, students choosing finance or IT do their core curriculum in Dubai and then 'cross over' to Singapore to study their specialisations.
Those who choose marketing, global logistics and human resources management first go to Singapore for their core curriculum and then move to Dubai for their specialisations.
