24 May Impact of COVID-19 on Indian Business Schools Industry

With coronavirus threats, not only a region or a country but the whole world has entered an unprecedented territory. It has highly impacted each and every industry that exists and even given rise or lead to abrupt shut down of various businesses. It is straining the global economy and disheveling the world.

To be safe from the impact of this widespread, the most effective measure is social distancing!

This indicates that collective groups of individuals should be prohibited, so there is no way that there could be classroom sessions at this risky time and hence, business schools are hit hard by the pandemic.

Current Impact on Business Schools

There has been anxiety and uncertainty around the globe, which is impacting the business schools immensely –

• Cancellation of physical classes –
  • Face to face classes have been brought to an immediate end and all the business schools abruptly shifted to the virtual space and both the students and faculties are facing various issues in conducting the classes online
  • It’s a challenge for admin to conduct and coordinate for the classes
  • With areas having low or no internet connectivity, the students or faculties could not make use of online learning
  • Many classes which cannot be taught virtualized had to be cancelled

• MBA Admission cycle is disrupted
  • March is the month when most business schools start with their interview admissions for the next batch that likely starts by the month of June
  • These interviews can’t be conducted physically and the same are being conducted online

• Events stands cancelled
  • The business schools have their calendar planned since the start of the year in which all the events are aligned
  • These events have to be cancelled which have resulted in loss generation for many schools

• Travel is restricted
  • International exchange programs have come to a halt as the national boundaries have been sealed
  • Faculties who provide lectures globally cant are not able to follow their teaching model

• Fall in international applicants
  • Indian business schools already have a very low inflow of students from foreign countries, which the industry was planning to raise by introducing various specializations but now that idea is hard hit due to the pandemic
  • As the people are shaken globally, there is a fear to travel abroad which has led to decline in applications from students outside India

• Internships or placements procured from B schools stands cancelled
  • Business schools are majorly known for the internships/placements their students get. This parameter reflects back upon the quality of business school, the quality of faculty and their connections in the corporate world. In short, business schools have their names on top with the job offers its students get
  • Due to the adverse market conditions, many companies have faced the heat and cancelled upon these offers, which have indirectly impacted the school, as the students with their brand name are job less

• Plunge in Profits
  • All the above factors have costed a lot to every business school – Holding sessions online
  • Creating new ways to start with interviews and admission process
  • Cancellation of events that brings in sponsors and helps build industry relations

There is a fall in revenue as the lives of people are highly impacted and the admission applications have been low compared to previous years

Future Impact on Business Schools

The impact of coronavirus is going to be long-lasting on every industry. For business schools, it has been very disruptive but there is an anticipation of “silver lining” to the experiences they have had.

Yes, there are pros and cons to everything! But here is how future of business schools is being spoken about:

• Rise of Digitization
  • Education institutes follow a very slow pace of change, but now as there are online classes, this is paving a way for bright future for online studies via google classrooms, mobile apps, etc.
  • Keeping of records or accounts in every business school, even the smallest ones have shifted to online servers for the information to be shared
  • Immersion of 5G Technology, learners and solution providers truly embracing the ‘learning anywhere, anytime’ concept of digital education in a range of formats

“The COVID-19 Pandemic Has Perhaps Accelerated The Rate Of Change Necessary To Move The Business School In The Right Direction, Particularly With Respect To The Development Of Online And Blended Degree Programs And Short Courses (Micro-Credentials)”

-AACSB

• Importance of Public-Private Educational Partnerships
  • Learning consortiums and coalitions are taking shape and coming together to utilize digital platforms as temporary solution to crisis with diverse stakeholders – including governments, education professionals, publishers and telecom network operators
  • This has high potential of becoming a trend in future education system

• Knowledge Gain apart from Business School Syllabus
  • Many Business Schools have provided their students access to online courses from Coursera, Udemy, Lynda, etc. – helps students to learn and broaden their learning experience by studying on a global level
  • This coupled with digitization will enhance cross-utilization of resources openly available on the web and hence would further aid in quality learning
  • This too has a high chance of hitting the textbook studies in future and B Schools shift towards teaching through these courses

• Gap widening due to Digitization
  • With the above adoption of digitization, the gap could widen between those who have digital access and those who don’t
  • Only around 60% of the globe’s population is online
  • Not every family is rich enough to provide their children access to up to date digital platforms

The bottom line of the impact of Covid-19 is that any effect could be overcome if we put up a fight and bring up solutions.

“Resilience must be built into our educational systems”