The first time I read an interview with this year's JEE topper, I felt a certain degree of deja vu. At the end of the day, any 'success story', be it the boards, JEE, Civil Services or CAT, bears a strong resemblance to each and every other 'success story'. Of course, much of it is due to the media trying to highlight the same set of attributes, and hence it would be unfair to blame the toppers for being conformists. However, when I talked to my friends about it, something struck me as especially alarming. While we all know that much of the intake of our top business schools comes from the top engineering colleges, what was striking was that this year's IIT topper said he wanted to go to an IIM even before he entered an IIT.
The tragedy, unfortunately, is that it is unfair to single him out for criticism. Perhaps lots of students have the same aim of going through the IIT-IIM route. There is certainly a tremendous 'brand value' associated with this route. Going to the best institutions in the country in their respective fields is certainly a very difficult task. It is perhaps the most effective signal that a person can offer to potential employers in the labour market. I can also think of how this is the best way to humour one's ego. In an education system that is geared towards mass production (and here I am not being critical of India in specific), the fraction of students who can qualify for both these institutions is indeed very, very small. Truth be told, I would have considered it an honour to be in such elite company.
That said, what I am unable to grasp is why somebody who wants to do an MBA eventually would want to spend four years studying engineering. My experience at the IIM interviews this year has convinced me that it is easier for a non-engineer with the same aptitude (read CAT score) to clear the interviews than it is for an engineer. What sense would it then make for someone who eventually wants to go to an IIM to spend four years at an IIT?
There are two reasons that I can possible think of. Firstly, the person might intrinsically enjoy engineering as a discipline and even though he does not want to pursue a career in it, he might enjoy studying it. I am not sure how far this is the case for engineers, and hence cannot make a statement on it. Secondly, being in an IIT might expose a student to a plethora of activities that are unheard of in other institutions. For starters, the scale of cultural events at IITs is far beyond what one can even imagine at Delhi University. Being able to access such opportunities can help an individual hone one's skills and hence not only improve his career prospects, but also help him grow as an individual. Hence, even though I doubt how many students actually rationalise it in this way, it does make sense individually to follow the IIT-IIM path.
Does it make for a social optimal? Most signalling devices are pareto inefficient - they are a drain on resources that are now used to create signals, but could have instead been used for productive purposes. An IIT is an effective, but expensive signal. The kind of money spent on a single IIT student is exceptional for a country at India's level of development. Certainly, this is a case of individually sensible decisions to become socially sub-optimal. There is thus a pressing need to devise better signals that drain fewer productive resources on those whose eventual aim is to get management education.
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