Admission criteria changes have been announced in many b-schools, including a few Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) --- all to include more non-engineers and women students. While IIM Raipur will add 30 marks to a girl-non-engineer, IIM Rohtak will award 20 marks to female candidate and 20 to non-engineers, so a non-engineer female candidate will be awarded 40 bonus marks. And IIM Lucknow will give five more marks to women and two more to non-engineers.While some students have welcomed the changes, others say that it is reservation of another kind. PaGaLGuY spoke to three MBA students --- one an engineer, another a non-engineer and third a woman student, to know what they think about b-schools 'favouring' a set of students. Below are their views.

Jayakirupa J from the Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode (IIMK) on changing criteria in favour of more women. At least 30% of the batch in IIMK are women.

Is it a good move for b-schools to 'change' criteria? Do you agree with the move?

Yes, it is a positive move. It does not demean or underestimate the ability of women, just encourages more representation considering the number of women pursuing higher education in India is dismal.

Does having more women in the classroom help?

Women obviously add a new perspective to any topic of discussion. In fact in one of our class presentations on Gender in India --- a topic that could have gone cliched, an all girls team was discussing on how men are discriminated by society with traditional stereotypes like boys dont cry and are constantly considered the perpetrator in any situation with women. Surely the same story coming from a man would not have been received so well. I can assure you that the guys in the class felt nice to have their side of the story heard. This camaraderie is bound to be carried on to the corporate world in the future.

Does it not remind you of a quota-based system?

To term at as a quota, firstly, it is unfortunate that many view the word quota with a negative connotation. May be too much politicisation has resulted in this attitude. The fact that quota comes into play refers to the existence of an issue that needs to be rectified. Quota does not mean demerit but just providing a different set of standards. It must be noted that this is only for the admission process, once they join women have to compete with men and do not have any relaxed parameters. For instance IIMK has more than 30% women and there is a trend that women get placed faster if not as fast as men.

Would you like to feel that you (women in general) have gotten into a b-school because of a kind of a quota and not sheer merit?

Development needs a starting point and there is the preferred way of grass root level beginning. However there is also the beginning at the top way, were the benefits are bound to trickle to the lower rungs.

How do you think getting in more women in higher MBA education will change society in the long run?

It is a little too early make that prediction but considering the fact that it is trying to level the playing field at the very least, means we can hope for a positive long term impact.

Is it true that women in general are not the 'math" kinds where men and engineers score ?

I am not sure of the science behind it. But yes I find more women opting for arts as opposed to math/engineering oriented subjects compared to men. This could be a result of traditional social conditioning where women not being regarded the principal bread winners have had more freedom in choosing subjects which may not ensure higher monetary rewards.

How will things (other than in the classroom) change if there are more women in the campus.

The different perspective they bring in. Some sectors not viewed lucrative by men and left untouched can be explored by women. In IIMK the increase in women students has increased the variety of the optionals offered and has brought in a new sensitivity to the institute's social outlook.

Sooraj Muralee, a management student with an engineering background from National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE), Mumbai on taking in more non-engineers and women.

Have you heard about the change in criteria?

More participation in MBA courses from non-engineers is definitely welcome, but it should not be done by changing the criteria for selection to favour one particular set of students, as the ultimate aim for the b-school should be to get the best brains in the country.

Do you think it helps to have more non-engineers in the class, if so how? Would your class instruction have been different you think, if there were non-engineers?

Having more non engineers can help improve diversity in thoughts and attitudes it can bring about. It can benefit either parties involved, enabling them to think and approach the situation from the other's perspective and ultimately take the better decision.

Is it right to admit people in such a fashion, almost like a reservation of sorts, is it not forcing diversity?

Changing selection criteria would not be the right step in this direction and more brainstorming needs to be done on this issue.

How do you think getting in more non-engineers in higher MBA education will change society in the long run?

It should not make any noticeable change in society in long run as the quality of an engineer or a non engineer passing out of any premier b-school is all the same, the only advantage being the expedition in learning on the campus from each other's experiences.

Is it true that non-engineers in general are not the 'MATHS" kinds where engineers score?

The quant section of CAT, which is supposedly the MATHS part is no tougher than the level of mathematics one learns in Class XII, and gives an engineer no significant advantage. Only reason for the engineers to score more in CAT can be associate with the more rigorous and goal oriented approach one follows for various engineering entrance exams.

How will things (other than in the classroom) change if there are more non-engineers in the campus?

The things would be pretty much the same as there is no area where either category has any competitive edge over the other.

Don't you think for years, engineers have been having a upper hand in b-school admission because of a better grasp of maths?

The admission to b-schools is not entirely based on CAT as there are group activities and interviews where the ability of each student to sustain the rigour and withstand the gruelling conditions that a future manager will encounter are tested, and out of which the best lot is screened. And since there are no areas in the entire selection process where an engineer can 'mathematically' take advantage, a better grasp in maths has no distinct advantage.

More non-engineers would be mean more women too, is that a good idea - will that help in a classroom and on campus?

More women can again help increasing the diversity in thoughts and can be considered good.

Why do so many engineers want to do an MBA after engineering?

An MBA is the ideal option for anyone aiming to go high up the corporate ladder. As I had mentioned earlier, the goal oriented approach of the engineering graduates over the others could be the reason for more engineers wanting to take up MBA as a preferred career option.

Harshali Damle, a Chartered Accountant from IIM Shillong on changing criteria to include fewer engineers and more women

Have you heard about the criteria change? Do you agree?

I agree with the move. This will bring in more diversity to the student fraternity of the IIMs.

Do you think it helps to have more non-engineers in the class, if so how? Would your class instruction have been different you think, if there were more non-engineers than engineers?

More non engineers will bring in different ideas and perspectives to the classroom learning process that will help in creating better managers with a holistic view to approach a problem and think out of the box. In case of more non engineers that engineers there would not have been a major difference in the pedagogy as the basics of management will remain the same irrespective of the background of the participants.

Is it right to admit people in such a fashion, almost like a reservation of sorts, is it not forcing diversity?

All b-schools have some basic criteria for selection of participants. The same ensures that only the best are selected. Also in the real world, managers have to work with people from all educational backgrounds. Hence it will also be better for the engineers if the get a feel of the same during their management course itself. Also if there are only engineers in the management course, there will be little difference between the engineering course and a management course.

How do you think getting in more non-engineers in higher MBA education will change society in the long run?

In the long run, the society will get managers who represent different sectors. This will ensure better decision making which will help growth of businesses and the society as a whole.

Is it true that non-engineers in general are not Math-friendly where engineers score?

Non engineers are trained for a different skill set and a way of thinking. However it cannot be generalised that non engineers are not the Maths kinds as Maths is more of logic and less of formulas.

How will things (other than in the classroom) change if there are more non-engineers in the campus?

There will be a greater peer learning not only in terms of classroom learning but also learning through experience of different people in different sectors. This will add to the spice of campus life as there is better networking for all the participants.

Don't you think for years, engineers have been having an upper hand in b-school admission because of a better grasp of maths?

No, I do not think that this is due to a better grasp of Maths of engineering students. I think the said problem was due to the unwillingness of non-engineers to look at management as a career option. There was a lack of awareness earlier which is now slowly changing.

More non-engineers would be mean more women too, is that a good idea - will that help in a classroom and on campus?

Women have a different way of thinking than men. The corporates also have agreed to the fact that bringing in more women to the Board Room helps in better decision making. Also it is time to completely shed the conventional image of women as just home makers and not decision makers for the society to progress. Hence this is definitely a good move.

Do you feel you lacked any attribute that your engineer classmate brought with him/her to an MBA class?

Engineers are better trained for crisis and time management due to their exposure to similar circumstances earlier. The same is not the case with many non-engineers. Also their technical and quantitative skills are significantly different from the non-engineers. This help to broaden the view of non-engineers also.

PaGaLGuY also spoke to some b-schools that have changed their admission criteria and to those who have not and asked whether the changes were 'fair'.

P Rameshan, Director at IIM Rohtak: "Yes, may be a small number of engineers will get affected but that number will be very small. As it is, engineers dominate all the competitive exams and do exceedingly well which anyway sets the pattern for admissions. The process is highly skewed, there is no way to get in a diverse section unless you adopt measures such as these. Even after these measures are put in place, the engineers will dominate all exams so while efforts such as these are being made to get a diverse group, at the end the engineers will still be in the majority, you cannot do anything about that."

Himanshu Rai, Professor of Human Resource Management at IIM Lucknow: "We are not reserving candidates. We are only trying to diversify the pool of candidates. We had a percentage kept aside last year too, this year we have only increased the number. And our experiment last year gave us good results. The pool of non-engineers actually increased by 16% and that helped in the diversity in the class room. There might be a very small percentage of candidates who will be affected but I don't think deserving candidates will be left out. What we are basically doing is increasing the pool of candidates for us for the interview. Globally too, schools try their best to get in students from different backgrounds."

MJ Xavier, Director at IIM Ranchi: "We are not adopting any of these measures. I do not believe in forced diversity. I cannot compromise on merit to take on more women and non-engineers. Fundamentally, our selection process is wrong, which is why we get more engineers. I believe in a more fair way of getting in more women and non-engineers. For instance, at Ranchi, we have started the Human Resources Management course. This course will be the same in the first year and get more specialised in the second. This, according to me will get in more women and the non-engineering kinds. Also the new CAT paper this year which focuses on verbal and qualitative skills will help diverse the pool of candidates we get. The new paper pattern will also get us more women, essentially women are better with verbal and writing skills. "