Just Sarin

The story: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1466397.cms

Now for my views (hopefully controversial and rude):

If people can keep IIT-ians out of IIM's... they're welcome to do so. And it's very easy - out perform them in the entrance exam.

The argument to keep IITian's out of the IIMs is simply a protectionist stand being taken by incapable people who are trying to increase their own probabilities of success - at the expense of people who they feel are already "successful".

If there should be an argument it should actually focus on the following:
1. The entrance exam should not be something that engineers should find very easy to crack.
Trying to design an exam that engineers won't be able to crack would require inclusion of appreciation of aesthetics and higher literature skills - though my guess is that engineers will still form the highest proportion of entrants into the IIMs, irrespective of the type of exam - most of engineering is just a method to crack an exam.

2. Salaries for core engineering jobs need to go up, and so do pays for research jobs.
A large number of the toppers from the IITs head off to the States in search of higher education and a research job that would pay them big fat salaries (along with the satisfaction of doing something that like). If this were to happen in India itself, then the proportion of engineers heading off to the IIMs would automatically reduce.

3. People from other streams should begin to get some kind of meaningful work experience, so that only software engineers do not have the best work experience available.
Unfortunately, while software is the biggest growth area, it is easiest for someone to become the "youngest programmer who did ___", which is not available to other, more staid fields. Also, while software remains the highest paying field, it will attract the best brains - obviously resulting in them being the best people of the lot applying to the IIMs.

Pretty much a similar argument is that for providing reservations in institutes of higher learning - today's news paper talks about increasing the reservations in IITs from 22.5% to around 49% or something similar. I think that such reservations can be provided at the elementary school levels or even at high school levels, but not where they are being asked for.

Once you've reached the college level (esp. professional institutes), anyone who isn't capable enough to get in on their own merit isn't likely to be able to perform in these institutes of higher learning (specifically the IITs or IIMs). It is as much a waste of allowing such people in, as people who don't intend to make use of the degree in the way others deem it fit to be used. Most of professional education is about training the mind … to do something specific, but it can be applied in any way what soever.

Most MBA institutes around the world do value diversity, which is why there is a Personal Interview/Group Discussion round at the IIMs. These rounds are nightmares for most engineers, and are broadly designed to help diversity – i.e. people who would otherwise not make it through on the basis of just a test score.

Standard disclaimers apply. I'm happy to stamp on anyone's head who dares to disagree with me :-)