Go forth, IIT-IIM, but careful of your brands

The IITs and IIMs are India‘s top-notch higher-education institutions. A seat in either is almost like a podium finish in the Olympics. Their entrance tests are so tough that they have spawned a multi-crore tutorial ecosystem. With blockbuster brand value, recall and reputation, both brands are seeking opportunities to tap the lucrative foreign market. These steps are in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

The ‘internationalisation of education’ plan outlined in it includes three reforms – foreign universities to set up campuses in India, Indian universities to set up campuses abroad, and twinning, dual-degree and joint-degree programmes at Indian universities in collaboration with foreign varsities. African and Gulf nations, Thailand and Vietnam are among potential destinations for Indian universities for offshore campuses. While IIT Delhi is considering setting up a campus in the UAE, IIT Madras is exploring options in Sri Lanka, Nepal and Tanzania. IIT campuses are also in the pipeline in Egypt, Thailand, Malaysia and Britain.

These go-global plans have been in the works since 2015 and are welcome. But these institutes lack adequate faculty strength, which can upset the new plans. May 2023 GoI data show that over 6,000 faculty posts are vacant at central universities, 4,500 in IITs and 496 in IIMs. While India churns out almost 25,000 PhDs annually and over a million postgraduates, IIMs, IITs and other top institutions fail to find enough qualified candidates to hire, a timely reminder that India’s higher education system faces severe quality issues. While going ahead with their plans, IITs and IIMs must factor in this reality, and ensure the brand expansion doesn’t end up harming the motherships.