The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), since 2016, has undertaken a project of establishing rankings for educational institutes in India under the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) at the graduation and post-graduation level, including management institutes. Recently, the NIRF MBA Rankings 2019 have also been released by the MHRD. But how much sense do these rankings make? How accurate are they in representing the true picture of India's top business schools? The NIRF's MBA Rankings 2019 are based on 5 major factors - Teaching & Learning Resources, Graduation Outcomes, Outreach & Inclusivity, Perception, and Research & Professional Practice. For the purpose of this analysis, we will consider 2 out of the 5 factors germane to MBA aspirants, i.e., Perception and Graduation Outcomes.

Index

1. Overall Rankings
2. Perception
3. Graduation Outcomes
4. Do Rankings Matter?

Overall Rankings

The overall rankings are calculated by merging the 5 factors that MHRD considers for its rankings. Each factor is assigned a weight, and a weighted average is calculated based on these weights. The following are the weights for the 5 factors:

• Teaching, Learning & Resources (TLR) - 0.30
• Research and Professional Practice (RPC) - 0.30
• Graduation Outcomes (GO) - 0.20
• Outreach and Inclusivity (OI) - 0.10
• Perception (P) - 0.10

For example, consider two MBA institutes - FMS Delhi (ranked 35th) and VGSoM IIT Kharagpur (ranked 6th). Here is how these institutes got their overall rank: If only GO, P and TLR were considered, with equal weights, then the following would be the results: Clearly, the MHRD NIRF rankings are majorly influenced by the Teaching & Learning Resources available at the institutes, and the Research and Professional Practices - these make up 60% of the total weight. But is this a fair assessment of MBA institutes?

Observations That Stand Out

Some questions that arise after looking at the overall rankings are - why is there such a disparity in the weights assigned to the 5 factors? Why is the inclusivity of a B-school less important than the quality Doctoral programmes offered by a B-school? Why must B-school perception have such little influence on rankings? As a result of weights that appear to be disproportionate, institutes such as ICFAI, IITs, Kalinga Institute of Technology, LIBA, TAPMI and Jamia Millia Islamia are ranked higher than FMS Delhi;  VGSoM is better than most of Tier-1 management institutes, including IIM Kozhikode, SPJIMR and MDI Gurgaon, and a reputed institute like IRMA is ranked 50th. Second generation IIMs are made to look like second-class MBA institutes, although from the Graduation Outcomes factor it is clear that these are a part of the Top-20 MBA institutes of India. Bearing this in mind, another confusing aspect of the rankings is the layout of the rankings themselves. While the scores of each B-school in each of the 5 categories is mentioned clearly, there is no factor-wise ranking available, as was the case till last year, making the overall rankings even more confusing.

MHRD NIRF MBA Rankings 2019 - Perception

The MHRD NIRF MBA Rankings 2019 evaluate Perception by taking into account public perception, perception of employers, perception of academic peers, and perception of the general public. But what does 'Perception' generally mean, when it comes to B-school rankings? 'Perception', in simple terms, refers to brand equity of an institute, i.e., what kind of an impact does a B-school brand have on its desirability. Perception is a sub-conscious confluence of factors such as placements, infrastructure, location, popularity etc.

"Hey bro. I am so happy for you. I mean, landing calls from FMS Delhi, IIM Indore, XLRI Jamshedpur, IIM Shillong, SIBM Pune, IIFT Delhi...phew! Which one are you joining?"
"Bro. The choice is clear. I'll be joining Bharathidasan Institute of Management."
"Great choice bro!"

MHRD has had erroneous rankings in the past but this time they have outdone themselves. In terms of perception as a business school, BIM-Trichy has outdone some of the top management institutes of the country. MDI Gurgaon, SPJIMR Mumbai, IIM Udaipur, IRMA, IIM Rohtak, SIBM Pune, are all rated significantly lower than colleges such as PSG, LIBA, BIT Ranchi and Anna University. Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) and IMED are ranked higher than NITIE Mumbai, while IMT Ghaziabad and IMI New Delhi are almost peripheral in these rankings. It appears that in terms of location, infrastructure, average CTCs offered, Alumni network etc., every single institute B-school has been disproportionately ranked. For instance, compare LIBA with management institutes below it that would conventionally feature in the Top-15 of any MBA rankings: Location, Placements, and expected Alumni base - in all aspects, LIBA is inferior to the institutes in the aforementioned table. This trend can be applicable to every single disproportionately ranked MBA institute in the MHRD NIRF MBA Rankings 2019. The only rankings more ludicrous than these belong to The Economic Times, where Amity University rivals the likes of Harvard and Dartmouth. An observation, though unconfirmed, is that it appears that MHRD's "online survey" to garner Public Perception scores appears to be flawed, and seems to be more inclined towards B-schools in Southern India that may not necessarily have a very strong standing as brands in the minds of MBA aspirants and other relevant stakeholders in other parts of the country. Could it be that, by the rule of weighted averages, a large number of survey takers may have been residents of Southern India, thereby majorly influencing their personal (and valid) preferences for B-schools in close proximity? One thing, and perhaps the only thing that these rankings based on Perception seem to have gotten right is the unwavering Indian obsession with the 'IIT' brand. This is consistent with the rankings released by InsideIIM where SJMSoM, IIT Bombay and DoMS, IIT Delhi have outranked even the second generation of IIMs and other top institutes such as MICA. To test these rankings based on 'Perception', I suggest that you as a reader take a look at InsideIIM's MBA Rankings - 2019, compare it with the MHRD NIRF Rankings 2019 mentioned above, and ET Rankings 2019 and honestly decide which rankings are more authentic and unequivocal. You can register your response in the form below. Once you have filled the survey, click on 'See Previous Responses' to check what others have to say. Loading...You can also ask any questions that you may have around the MHRD NIRF rankings here.

MHRD NIRF MBA Rankings 2019 - Graduation Outcomes

The MHRD NIRF MBA Rankings evaluate Graduation Outcomes of a B-school, which is measured by the %age of students placed through campus placements, Median salary, %age of students passing the University examinations, etc. This is perhaps the most important aspect to consider for MBA aspirants, since these rankings clearly delineate which business schools are better bets than others when it comes to the final outcome of the 1-year/2-years spent at a B-school.

Observations That Stand Out

When it comes to Graduation Outcomes, the rankings appear to be somewhat familiar. According to the NIRF Rankings, 2 of the holy trinity of IIMs are positioned right at the top when it comes to the final outcome of the 2-years spent at a B-school. IIM Bangalore has stood out at the top, which is also consistent with its global perception as a management institute, having been ranked higher than IIM Ahmedabad in the Financial Times' Global MBA Rankings for 2019. It must be noted that relatively new IIMs such as IIM Ranchi, IIM Raipur, IIM Rohtak and IIM Trichy are positioned amongst the Top-20 B-schools with regard to the final outcome of the PGP courses offered by these institutes. This is a testimony to the fact that most of the burgeoning second generation IIMs are highly appealing options to pursue management education. Somewhat confusing is the position obtained by IIFT Delhi and NITIE Mumbai, two of the top MBA institutes in India with higher than average placements year-on-year. However, one must also bear in mind that Graduation Outcomes also comprise factors other than median salaries at B-schools, which is where perhaps NITIE Mumbai and IIFT Delhi missed out. SIBM Pune must be lauded for attaining a rank above 4 out of the 7 old IIMs and all of the second generation IIMs. It is interesting that when the rankings for Graduation Outcomes and Perception are tallied, there is utter incongruence, which implies that perhaps MHRD's survey was not directed to the right audience, i.e., those with some knowledge of Indian MBA institutes.

Conclusion

The NIRF rankings have been questioned by multiple reputed universities and institutes, including IIFT Delhi that questioned its 81st position when the NIRF first came out with its rankings in 2016, and IIT BHU which questioned it in 2017. When it comes to the NIRF MBA Rankings 2019, the only element that cannot be double-checked and verified for veracity is 'Perception', and that is exactly where the rankings begin to crumble and become irrelevant, even though it has the lowest weightage out of all the 5 factors that MHRD considers. However, it does contribute 10% of the total weight and therefore is quite important to the overall rankings. The rankings based on Graduation Outcomes appear to be accurate, more-or-less, and present a relatively true picture of the top MBA institutes in the country. Overall, if it were up to me, I would assign weights to Graduation Outcomes, Teaching & Learning Resources, Outreach & Inclusivity, and Perception in the ratio 3:3:2:0 respectively for these rankings in particular, considering the rankings based on Perception are a clear aberration.

Do Rankings Matter?

Yes, they do. But crucial career decisions are not contingent on rankings alone. Rankings must be treated as a basis for establishing a general idea of desirability and priority because after all, there is bound to be some truth to the rankings that are released by credible organisations, thereby also putting the onus on them to get it right. For instance, those unaware of the top management institutes outside of India will have no clue where to even begin applying since there is no basis for even knowing which B-schools are desirable, let alone prioritising one B-school over another. This is where rankings such as Financial Times' Global MBA Rankings and QS World Rankings come into the picture. Rankings by MHRD, ET, InsideIIM, Business Today, The Week, Mint play a similar role for Indian B-school rankings. Therefore, it is a good idea to look at all rankings, gather the general opinion about the Top-20 B-schools, and then begin primary research to actually understand which B-schools will be the right fit for your career ambitions. Otherwise just join Bharathidasan Institute of Management. It's better than the best IIMs, you know. What do you think of this analysis? Which points do you agree with the most, and which points didn't make even a bit of sense? Let me know in the comments, and I will try and attempt to improve my analysis!

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MBA rankings are just one part of the game. What matters most is preparing for CAT and cracking the exam! Here are some guides and preparation kits that may help you crack CAT in 2019, and will also help you in the post-CAT admissions process - 

• The Ultimate Guide For CAT Re-Takers
• A Comprehensive Guideline To Preparing For CAT 2019
• Post-CAT Survival Kit
• What To Do Next If You Have Been Shortlisted For MBA Interviews