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New Delhi: The central government has decided to close down five-year integrated or dual-degree
master of business administration (MBA) programmes offered by many universities and independent
management schools in India. The government had previously closed down four-year undergraduate
degree courses in academic year 2014-15.

A circular issued by the country’s technical education regulator All India Council for Technical
Education (AICTE) said such courses were “not in line with the UGC-approved programmes". The
University Grants Commission (UGC) is the country’s top higher education regulator.

“The AICTE has decided the following: the dual degree courses have been closed (sic) and no fresh
admission should be permitted from AY (academic year) 2016-17," said a circular issued to all
institutions.

It has directed institutions not to enrol students to such courses for the 2016-17 academic year.
Students currently enrolled in such courses will be allowed to exit the course after the end of three
years, the circular said.

Ironically, such courses were approved by AICTE in 2012-13 to suit the different needs of the
industry.

The five-year integrated course had an exit option at the end of three years with a degree called
bachelor of management (BM), and after four years with bachelor of applied management. On
completion of five years, students were given master’s degree in applied management.

Former AICTE chairman S.S. Mantha, who had signed off on the programme, defended his four-year-
old decision. “I don’t think, the integrated course has flouted any norms. What they have now
moved is to shut the five-year integrated programmes," Mantha said, pointing out that the circular
clearly mentions that existing students will not face any problem.

The integrated course was intended to provide an undergraduate degree at the end of three or four
years, followed by a master’s degree in five years. The regulator had then cited three key objectives
for starting such courses:

a) To educate and groom the students to get entry-level managerial positions in

manufacturing/services organizations or to start and run own ventures with good business
knowledge.

b) To facilitate the development of students to take up growing challenges and find and implement
solutions that are environmentally viable, ethically correct and socially acceptable.

c) To provide for job opportunities at different levels of management within organizations starting at
supervisory level in small and medium enterprises and middle level management in large PSUs and
MNCs.

“What we had done four years back goes well with the present government’s push for start-ups. In
my view, such courses can create employable workforce for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Start-
up India mission," Mantha added.

Over 10,300 institutions, including more than 3,400 B-schools, come under the purview of AICTE. But
there is no exact data on how many institutions offer such courses and how many students are
enrolled.
Industry insiders said that since the course is just four-year-old, less than 100 schools offer such
courses. “The number of students pursuing such courses are estimated to be less than 10,000," said
Harivansh Chaturvedi, alternate president of education promotion society of India, a federation of
private professional education providers in India.

Indian Institute of Management (IIM)-Indore also offers a five-year integrated management course
but IIMs don’t come under the purview of AICTE.

In the latest circular, the AICTE said it will safeguard the interests of the students who have enrolled
in such courses since 2012-13.

“There will be an exit option at the end of three years for the students, who have joined the dual
degree courses in 2015-16 and prior to that, by awarding a BBA (bachelor of business
administration) degree instead of a BM degree," the circular said.

C. Raj Kumar, vice-chancellor of O.P. Jindal Global University, a private university in Haryana that
offers a five-year integrated MBA course, said he is yet to receive a circular from AICTE.

“As a university, we are governed by the UGC, not by AICTE. I am not sure, whether our integrated
course will have any impact because of the AICTE directive. Even if it does, it will not impact
existing students," Kumar said, adding that there is demand for such courses.

In case of pursuing MBA after BBA, candidates will have to repeat core subjects.

Also, a five-year integrated MBA saves the candidate from appearing for entrance exam and
selection process twice (at UG and PG level), saving one year that goes into preparation of CAT,
XAT, MAT, CMAT, etc.
Different institutes/universities have different selection criteria for BBA+MBA programme. Some
of them conduct their own entrance exam, and some accept centralized entrance exam score.
There are many colleges which offer seats on the basis of merit only. A candidate planning to
pursue BBA+MBA must keep a few things in mind.
Points to Consider While Choosing Intergrated-MBA Programme:

 They must be very clear about their career goal and interest from the beginning, as
Integrated MBA is a five-year course; and for five years they will study only business
administration. So in case a candidate has interest in a specific fields like Finance or
IT/Operations, he/she should opt for BCom, BTech at UG level.

 Currently, very few reputed universities and colleges offer Integrated MBA, hence the
aspirants must select the college with utmost care and foresight.

 Several IITs and engineering institutes offer B Tech+MBA dual programmes. The combination
of B Tech and MBA is one of the most sought after ones in the job market. The candidate
who chooses this combination at Class 12 level, he/she will have an upper-hand later on.

 While choosing a college for the Integrated MBA programme, the candidates must ensure
that the admission process is once and not twice (after completion of first three years).

 Also, they must check the syllabus and semesters of all the five years to have a better
understanding of what they will study during the course, and that the syllabus is not
repeated in UG and PG level.

Top Institutes Offering Integrated MBA Programme

Candidates who have passed Class 12 or are awaiting their results to choose their field of study from
courses after 12th in commerce, five-year integrated MBA is one of the better options. Here’s a list
of a few popular institutes/universities which offer BBA+MBA:

Institute Course Eligibility Fees

IIM Rohtak Integrated A minimum of 75% Rs 4.10 lakh  per

Programme in marks in class 10th and annum
Management (IPM) class 12th. For
Reserved category
students, the minimum
score required in 70%
in class 10th and class
12th. And entrance
exam

IIM Indore Integrated Class XII pass and Rs 4 lakh per annum
Programme in entrance exam for first three years.
Management (IPMAT) Fees of last two
years will be same as
that of PGP

Xavier University Integrated MBA in Class XII pass Rs 8.58 lakh (total
Sustainability fee)
Management
Narsee Monjee Institute BBA+MMS Class XII pass and NA
of Management Studies entrance exam (NPAT)

Nirma University BBA+MBA (Five Class XII pass and Rs 1.88 lakh pa
Institute of Year Integrated) entrance exam (UGAT)
Management

SRM Institute of Science MBA (Integrated) Class XII pass Rs 1 lakh pa

and Technology

Mumbai University BMS+ MBA Class XII pass and NA

entrance exam
(MUCMET)

Lucknow University MBA (Five Years) Class XII pass and Rs 30,000 per
entrance exam semester

Jindal Global Business Integrated BBA Minimum of 60% Rs 3.5 lakh (yearly)
School (Hons) + MBA (Five marks in class 12 +
Years) entrance exam
(SAT/UGAT/JSAT exam)

Devi Ahilya MBA (Five Years) Class XII pass and NA

Vishwavidyalaya, Indore entrance exam (DAVV
CET)

Kurukshetra University MBA (Five Years) Class XII pass + NA

entrance exam and
personal interview

NIIT University Integrated MBA Class XII pass NA

(Four Years)