Lack of students forces 5 management colleges to seek closure nod

Unable to get adequate number of students, five MBA colleges in the state have approached the Gujarat Technological University (GTU) and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) for permission to shut their institutions.

As many as 14 management colleges affiliated to GTU had closed last year for similar reasons. Currently, there are 95 colleges in the state imparting management education.

Among the colleges that have submitted their applications seeking closure are Shrimati Sarlaben V Malaviya School of Management (SSVMSM) and CC Gardi Institute of Management (CCGIM), both in Rajkot. The other three are in Kheda, Bharuch and Kim in Surat district.

Kamlesh Jani, an official at SSVMSM, said they had sought permission because of low admissions, which is not viable for a self-financed institute. He said that besides paying for the faculty, the institute also had to pay some amount annually to AICTE for continuing the course.

D V Mehta of CCGIM said they had started two management colleges in 2009. "But we have applied for closure of CCGIM as the institute is not getting enough students," he added.

GTU officials said that private management institutes mushroomed in the wake of economic boom a couple of years ago and many of them were set up in rural areas due to lack of enough space in urban centres. Most of the institutes in rural areas found that the students were not willing to study at centres away from the hustle and bustle of big cities. Another problem with the institutes in rural areas was shortage of faculty as teachers were not accepting assignments there.

A GTU official said that while the expenses in setting up a management college was much less than an engineering or a pharmacy college because they didn't have to arrange for laboratories except a few computers and internet connections but the fees levied was higher than those of engineering colleges. So, management institutes offered big profits.

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