Are our Educational Authorities sleeping? - TOI - 25/12/2007

A LESSON IN REGULATION: LESS IS MORE

SP Jain college bigger abroad than in India

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mumbai: It was in 2004 that the S P Jain Institute of Management Studies decided to head for Singapore and by the time the next academic session started, the college was ready with the approvals and accreditation.
Unlike in India, the paperwork was quick: S P Jain had to coordinate with just one agency. “It is a single window system, we merely had to approach the Economic Development Board (EDB), which in turn co-ordinated with all the other ministries,’’ said Suresh Advani, a professor with the Mumbai-based institution who spearheaded the Singapore initiative.
“Once we had submitted all the documents, a delegation came to inspect our campus in Mumbai. Even the Singapore embassy collected some of our details
like courses we offer, placement records, our standing in the industry, faculty quality, etc,’’ added Advani.
After all the checks yielded positive results, S P Jain was asked to discuss their curriculum and submit a copy of it for clearance from the ministry of education. The EDB even sent S P Jain a list of the plots available in the Singapore, where they could set up base. “There was a one point-person we were co-ordinating with,’’ recalled Advani.
Today, there are 450 students studying on this campus, far more than the 180 students this institute has on its Mumbai campus, which has been in existence since 1981.
The situation is a result of a liberal policy under which there is no cap on student intake if you have requisite facilities. Secondly, the government there has also allowed S P Jain to fix its own fee structure. “We were given a broad idea of what other B-schools were charging. But there is no cap on the fees we can charge. We were merely told that our institution should be self sustaining,’’ added Advani.
Under the laws, the S P Jain Institute cannot remit a penny from what they earn for nine years. But they are not complaining. They are investing the money in upgrading and expanding their facilities in Singapore.