West Bengal to set up 4 new B-schools

West Bengal has decided to set up four new B-Schools to meet the increasing demand of MBA graduates. This will be the first time ever the state would witness progress in management field. The state would also establish 4 new engineering colleges after almost 16 years from where the B-schools will be run. The engineering colleges will be known as the ‘technical campuses”. The B-schools will be established in Murshidabad, Darjeeling, Purulia and Jalpaiguri and will tie-up with various industries to offer 2-year management courses

This decision was taken considering the fact that most of the management institutes charge heavy fee due to which many students fail to opt for management studies.  As against this, government B-schools will not only charge reasonable fees but also provide subsidy. The new institutes will also focus on the quality of education. Another objective is to produce more employable graduates.

The admission against 60 seats in each B-school will be based on the entrance test to be held by WBUT (West Bengal University of Technology) or GMAT score.

Government will sponsor the setting up of the institutes. Though there is a cap on the fee charged by private institutes, many fail to abide by the rules and regulations. The initiative is expected to solve the situation. The projected time for establishing the infrastructure of engineering colleges is 2 years.

Apart from setting up 4 government business schools, state will establish 30 more B-schools across West Bengal in the next 5 year plan period. These schools will be built under the PPP model (Private-Public Partnership).  The cost will be partly incurred by the private players and partly by government funding.

Previously, the state had no right to monitor the quality of education in the existing business schools. Now with the amendment in the WBUT Act, government can keep a check on private B-schools including the universities. This will ensure quality control in government B-schools as well as those to be come up under PPP model.

The government B-schools are expected to attract large number of management aspirants due to their reasonable fee structure. The B-schools to come up under PPP model will be built at locations nearby the industry.