[ad_1]
IN THE DYNAMIC landscape of 2023, Sharika Jain, a digital marketing specialist, manages a full-time job while immersing herself in challenges of a full-time Masters in Business Administration (MBA) course. How is she undertaking two gruelling endeavours when most people find it tough to manage even one? The answer is online MBA — God’s or rather AICTE’s (All India Council For Technical Education’s) answer to those who struggle with the predicament of choosing one over the other.
It was more than a decade ago that the notion of giving a fillip to the career with a respectable degree from the comfort of one’s home was considered. But a paradigm shift came in March 2021 when AICTE decided to recognise online MBAs, though with some caveats (degree must state it is ‘online’ and minimum 50% marks in graduation). It also said that classroom infrastructure was no longer essential for offering an online MBA degree. This, along with Covid, gave a push to the online avatar of what had started off as a post-graduate diploma in 1960s and ’70s. The pandemic, especially, became a catalyst for individuals such as Rajat Agarwal, who seized the opportunity to upskill and expand his family business. “Being online was more flexible and affordable in every way,” he says.
Agarwal’s story echoes a broader trend. A Redseer Strategy Consultants report predicts that total addressable markets for online higher education and lifelong learning are expected to reach $3.6 billion and $1.2 billion, respectively, in FY25. This will be a massive jump from $400 million and $100 million, respectively, in FY20.
One of the significant shifts among working professionals is the rise in demand for online courses, especially post-graduate courses like management. While online MBA offers benefits such as flexibility, accessibility and cost-efficiency, it has not made any dent on the classroom experience. Experts believe it may never do. “Online has no impact on offline as they are separate programmes catering to different demographics,” Debashis Sanyal, director at Great Lakes Institute of Management, Gurgaon, tells Fortune India. The institute commenced the online programme in October last year. It has enrolled 1,000 students in both years with minimal dropout rates. “There seems to be enough space for both to successfully co-exist,” says Prof Ramabhadran Thirumalai, deputy dean, Academic Programmes, ISB.
In 2021, there were 4,74,249 enrollees in offline MBA programmes compared to 1,30,731 in online programmes, indicating a significant preference for traditional MBA formats, as per a study by All-India Survey On Higher Education. And the reason for that, the professor explains, is that there are two segments: One that wants a fully immersive in-person experience and interactions with faculty and peers and the other that wants the convenience of studying from home. The second group does not want to travel or move out, prefers to continue with the jobs and likes to learn at own pace. The online MBA caters to this market, which is slowly but surely burgeoning. Young management aspirants, who are usually at a stage of life where they can afford to dedicate themselves to a full-time on-campus programme, will continue to keep the offline admission rate up. On the other hand, the working professional demographic is fuelling the surge in online enrolments, positioning online MBA as a vital component of the evolving education landscape.
[ad_2]
Source link