Research-deficit mgmt colleges cry for targeted funding

Research-deficit mgmt colleges cry for targeted funding
Very few B-schools account for indexed publications, while most regional management colleges largely focus on teaching and placement
Divyansh Kumar
timesofindia.com

The NIRF 2025 data shows that 58.31 percent of management institutions and 31.47 percent of participating colleges reported zero indexed publications in 2021-23. The report, which drew publication counts from Web of Science and recorded 14,163 applications across categories, has raised concern among academicians, who warn the trend risks turning B-schools into placement factories unless urgent capacity-building measures are introduced.

Students enrol in colleges that promise 100 percent placement rather than focusing on research or entrepreneurship. Most B-schools give importance to publishing case studies rather than in-depth research papers, says Prof Anil Sahasrabuddhe, chairman, Executive Committee, NAAC. Pointing out a key limitation in data collection, Prof Sahasrabuddhe adds, “The NIRF analysis for publications used Web of Science WoS for the sake of simplicity, while the India Rankings considered data from Scopus and FT50 in addition to WoS. If we consider the data from all three sources, out of 909 eligible management institutes, 311 (34 percent) have zero publications, and nearly 600 institutes (66 percent) are actively publishing.”

The response to this problem must be structural, not cosmetic, Prof Debashis Chatterjee, director, IIM Kozhikode, says. “We need structural solutions in shortlisting and hiring faculty and in streamlining financial measures to include the creation of research chair positions with grants and reduced teaching loads, special incentives for publication in FT50 ABDC WoS categories, conference funding, sabbaticals and seed grants. IIMs encourage faculty research by awarding special incentives and helping them contribute more to research without compromising their teaching commitments.” Bigger institutes such as IIMs can help build research capacity at regional management colleges. Prof Chatterjee adds, “There is a major skill and experience gap in regional local B-schools. The PhD coursework is very poor, and scholars do not get rigorous inputs in fundamental courses or contemporary methods. IIM-K does face-to-face and online FDPs for aspiring teachers.”

Prof Mahadeo Jaiswal, director, IIM Sambalpur, says that research must be the core faculty responsibility, backed with concrete support. “Faculty members of our institutes are required to dedicate a minimum of 25 percent of their time to research, and research productivity is a key factor in promotions and career advancement,” he says. Experts also point to scalable remedies such as targeted R and D funding, expanded QIP-style grants to enable immersion and PhD coursework at premier campuses, formal mentorship and co-supervision agreements between IIMs and regional colleges and institution-level incentives such as research chairs. “More liberal funding by governmental authority and assigning FDP course work at IIMs and enabling QIP by liberal funding can help IIMs invest more in research,” adds Prof Chatterjee. The NIRF data also shows that a small set of premier institutions account for the bulk of indexed publications, while regional B-schools remain focused largely on teaching and placement. “The absence of publications in such a large share of institutions signals the need for capacity building among relatively young faculty and stronger institutional support for scholarly work,” Prof Chatterjee says.

POSTED BY : EDUCATION TIMES

DATE : 15/09/2025