Education Views | Insightful Perspectives and Analysis - Edinbox

Engineering and Management were mostly taken as dual disciplines. Accordingly, the premier B-schools like IIMs have long enjoyed the maximum influx of engineers. The engineers dominated management classrooms for decades; their numerical strength was well entrenched in the system, and the non-engineers used to appear to be mere aberrations. But the scenario is shifting now. Engineers' monopoly on management schools is weakening. Classrooms are experiencing an uptick in the numbers of economists, accountants, and students from commerce and humanities streams entering them. Their performance is increasing and approaching that of their engineering counterparts in top MBA courses.

The numbers are clear. At IIM-Indore, non-engineers now comprise 55% of the 2025–27 batch. IIM-Lucknow comes next with just below 53%, and IIM-Ahmedabad has moved to 50%, sharply up from 33% in a mere three years, the TNN reports indicate.

While figures paint the picture, the question is: What are the drivers that are rewriting history and breaking the monopoly of engineering domination?

The anatomy of change

The surge of non-engineers in India's top B-schools is no accident; it is a consequence of profound structural changes both in the applicant pipeline and in the needs of management education.

Corporate demand for new skill sets

The 21st-century corporate world is not merely demanding number-crunchers; it is demanding managers who are able to communicate, cooperate, and create. The recruiters find it more valuable to have critical thinking, emotional quotient, and creativity, skills in which the non-engineers, educated in economics, commerce, and the humanities, possess a natural advantage.

As the requirements of these skills gain momentum, the non-engineers are flocking to B-schools to complete the skill gap.

Intentional academic design by B-schools

It is no coincidence or accident. The best B-schools have deliberately and deliberately redesigned their admission architecture to cultivate and encourage diversity. At IIM-Ahmedabad, director Bharat Bhasker said, "The institute started introducing academic categories roughly a decade back to have diversity. More applications from non-engineers have resulted in a healthy mix of students in classes."

Rising ambitions of non-engineers

Management was the "natural next step" for long for engineers. But now, commerce, economics, and arts students are looking at B-schools as their own grounds, not other people's. In IIM-Lucknow, for example, 268 out of 507 students in the recent MBA batch belong to non-engineering streams. Director M.P. Gupta informed TNN, "Commerce-related courses have attracted the most students."

The increasing numbers of commerce graduates joining B-schools reflect a change in the generational perception of non-engineers about approaching management as a career booster.

Shifting nature of business problems

With the character of work, the issues that companies are dealing with are changing their face as well. It is not addressed by quantitative models only. Whatever it is — managing global supply chain disruption, navigating ESG mandates, or driving diverse teams — the call for soft skills, cultural literacy, and systems thinking is imperative. B-schools are, in fact, reflecting this reality in their recruiting processes.

A gender dimension

The ascent of non-engineers coincides with increasing female presence at B-schools. In IIM-Indore's 2025–27 batch, among the 270 non-engineers who have been admitted, 179 are females. Director at IIM Indore, Himanshu Rai told TNN that, "At IIM-Indore, representation of non-engineers has increased steadily over the last five years." Background diversity is, in most instances, also being converted into gender diversity. 

The end of an era, and the dawn of balance

This is not data representation or statistics, but it suggests towards serious structural reordering of India's B-schools. The engineering hegemony in management courses is crumbling. It is being replaced by a nearly-even split that introduces pluralism and intellectual diversity into classrooms.

The engineer can no longer be the default face of India's B-schools. The future is in a balanced blend, and that is the strength of the future generation of Indian management leaders.

When Harvard virology student Lindsey E. Adams opened her July 1 paycheck, she found something amiss. Her research stipend was no longer classified as a union stipend, and no union dues were deducted. But nothing else about her daily work had altered — not her hours, her boss, the lab, or the work she did.

Adams is among over 900 graduate students on stipends based on research who were taken out of the Harvard Graduate Student Union-United Automobile Workers' (HGSU-UAW) bargaining unit shortly after the union's second contract with the University ended in June, according to The Harvard Crimson. Without the union, these students are no longer entitled to contract protections like benefits, access to union funds, and the pay raises now being bargained in the union's third contract.

Comprehending the University's reasoning

The removals have raised issues regarding Harvard's standards for removing students from the class of those who the University deems not to be employees. Over a month since the change, the HGSU-UAW is still attempting to ascertain whether a way to appeal the decision exists, per coverage by The Harvard Crimson.

While unions would under other circumstances challenge such actions by filing an unfair labor practice (ULP) charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the political makeup of the board makes things more difficult. Michael C. Harper, emeritus professor of labor law at Boston University, told The Harvard Crimson that under the Trump administration's forthcoming appointments to the NLRB, "a case involving student workers could be used to take away students' right to unionize. Such a decision would be a near certainty."

In the meantime, the union is following through on the grievance process in its contract. On July 21, officials grieved Harvard, and on July 30, they requested information, The Harvard Crimson reported. The grievance cites several provisions of the contract that were supposedly violated, such as the composition of the bargaining unit and classifications of workers. The removal also violates the union security clause, which allows for automatic deduction of dues from paychecks.

As per HGSU-UAW financial secretary Simon A. Warchol, a student of Computer Science Ph.D., the union stands a chance of losing "anywhere from 25 to 40% of the dues Harvard automatically takes out of workers' paychecks each month," he said in an interview with The Harvard Crimson.

A unilateral interpretation

HGSU-UAW vice president Sudipta Saha explained to The Harvard Crimson, "We think that this contravenes not only the unit definition we have in the contract, but the union definition that we have been working on since we've had the very first elections whose outcomes were certified by the NLRB. They quite clearly state that all research assistants are encompassed, irrespective of source of funding, and the University has just decided to sort of unilaterally alter their interpretation."

Harvard, on the other hand, asserts that the excluded students are not contract-covered employees. The University has contended that stipended students' research is not employment since it aids their academic pursuit towards a degree and is not for doing something specific for pay.

Harvard Law School faculty members Sharon Block, Benjamin I. Sachs, and Laura M. Weinrib '00, in OnLabor, described this argument as "implausible" and pointed out that it "runs contrary to recent experience in the law and at Harvard." They cited a 2024 MIT ruling excluding stipended fellows from union coverage but contended that it does not necessarily validate Harvard's move. The professors summed up to The Harvard Crimson, "It would be surprising, that is, if no Harvard graduate student who receives a stipend does any work that is controlled by Harvard."

Navigating grievance procedures

The union also sat down with Harvard officials on August 4 under Step One of the grievance process. In his formal reply, Director of Labor and Employment Relations Brian Magner addressed the union that "the University finds no contractual violation has occurred and therefore the grievance is denied," as quoted by The Harvard Crimson.

In the event that the grievance goes to Step Two and Harvard rejects it once more, arbitration can be sought. The University is, however, expected to argue that the dispute is not arbitrable on grounds that the student removals happened after the union contract had expired on June 30. The union contends that since pay stubs on July 1 already showed changes in union representation, the case could well be arbitrable, The Harvard Crimson reports.

Disparate impact across schools

More than half of the affected students are part of Harvard Medical School’s Division of Medical Sciences. First- and second-year Ph.D. students, typically funded by the division or by National Institutes of Health grants, were heavily impacted. For third-year students and beyond, funding streams can be more complex, and removals are less uniform.

Laila B. Norford, a union steward and third-year Ph.D. candidate in biomedical informatics, said in an interview with The Harvard Crimson that "most students in hospital-based or hospital-affiliated labs have been removed, as have those fully funded on fellowships." Adams would probably have been excluded because her principal investigator, Daniel Lingwood, has a secondary appointment at Mass General Hospital's Ragon Institute.

Norford reported further confusion for students subsidized by more than one source: "Some employees have been partially extracted from the union — union fees have been automatically taken out of only their non-stipended income," she said to The Harvard Crimson.

Student concerns and uncertainty

Albert T. Chen, a fourth-year Ph.D. student and HGSU-UAW bargaining committee member, called the process "very arbitrary" to The Harvard Crimson: "There's some workers that are doing the same work, in the same labs, in the same program. Some are being carved out, some aren't."

The University has kept students in the loop via emails but clarity is only scant. DMS executive director Samantha Reed restated July 2 updates to students in a July 25 email, explaining that unionized students would get paid every other week without salary increases from last year because negotiations are still underway, The Harvard Crimson reports. Pay periods have also been used by students to determine if they are still part of the union.

Norford summarized the broader impact of the uncertainty: “It’s just kicking the scientists while we’re down. We’re already suffering and struggling so much because of what the federal government is doing, but also because of how Harvard’s responding to it. And now what they’re doing in this moment is trying to make it harder for all of us,” as she told The Harvard Crimson.

The path ahead

While the grievance proceedings are ongoing, students and union officials are demanding transparency from the University as to how the University reached its classification decisions. The case questions what academic institutions mean by employment and what protections graduate student workers deserve.

For Adams and her contemporaries, the stakes are direct. Unionization dictates wages, benefits, and job security, and Harvard's action represents a dramatic change in the way the University defines research-based graduate student work.

State govt will convert a Sanskrit school in each of the 38 districts of Bihar into a model school, additional chief secretary (ACS) S Siddharth announced at a function on Sanskrit Diwas on Tuesday.

Speaking after inaugurating a new website and portal for the Bihar Sanskrit Shiksha Board (BSSB), in the presence of health minister Mangal Pandey, the ACS stated that these model Sanskrit schools will possess state-of-the-art facilities such as computers, laboratories, and libraries. He also stated that a meeting would be convened soon with the BSSB chairman to discuss the demands brought up by principals of Sanskrit schools before a policy decision would be taken.

BSSB chairman Mritunjay Jha informed this newspaper that he had already given a list of 45 schools recommended for upgrading. He also informed that the BSSB had sanctioned a revised syllabus after 27 years. "The new syllabus features the Ramcharitmanas and the Bhagavad Gita for instilling moral values in students. We have sent the revised syllabus to the ACS for government approval," he said.

Jha further stated that the new portal and website would help principals and teachers by making online services and information easily accessible to them. He added that ACS had listened attentively to complaints and demands raised by principals and teachers at the event. These were pay revision, pension, modernisation of existing buildings, construction of new infrastructure, inclusion of Sanskrit in Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Class XII Sanskrit toppers' scholarship, and introduction of uniform, textbooks, and midday meal schemes in all Sanskrit schools.

Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary and BJP state president Dilip Jaiswal were also present on the occasion.

Samrat accepted that Sanskrit had not been encouraged as strongly as it ought to have been. Referring to the language as "completely mathematical", he added, "As far as getting marks in the examination is concerned, students can get more marks in Sanskrit than in Hindi or English. The state government will do everything to encourage Sanskrit in Bihar."

Jaiswal promised the assembly that the BJP would leave no stone unturned for the growth of Sanskrit education and schools. "If required, it will also be placed in the election manifesto," he further added.

Kerala's education system is making headlines by revolutionizing the conventional classroom seating, shifting away from the prevalent "backbencher" culture to embracing novel U-shaped seating designs. The new trend seats the students in a semicircle in front of the instructor, all with particular design to facilitate inclusivity, fair participation, and increased student engagement. As part of Kerala school education reforms, this inclusive classroom model is designed to maximize concentration, discussion, and interaction between teachers and students today. In reimagining classroom design in Kerala schools, the process has unleashed heated discussion on social media handles—while some applaud the revolution as a movement toward democratic and concentrated learning, others lament having lost the freedom of creativity once afforded from behind rows.

How u-shaped class seating helps promote inclusivity and participation

In this arrangement, the tables are placed in a U-shape in front of the teacher in the middle. The concept is that it provides equal play participation by providing each learner with clear view of the teacher—and vice versa. These supporters believe that the format lessens classroom hierarchies, allows for interaction, and avoids distraction that tends to creep in at the rear of the classroom.

Inspired by a Malayalam movie, Sthanarthi Sreekuttan, the program was initially pilot-tested in one government school at Valakom and has since caught on among other schools in Kerala as well as in one in Punjab. Teachers have termed the semi-circle seating arrangement as facilitating group learning and eliminating physical as well as psychological barriers in classrooms.

Internet reacts to Kerala's backbencher ban in classrooms

The decision has provoked a wave of responses on social media. There were some appreciations for Kerala's education sector for promoting equality and active participation among students, particularly in government schools where differences between the learning setups are more noticeable.

Others, though, looked back nostalgically to the back rows—long a sanctuary for introverts, quiet thinkers, or those students wishing to get their heads clear. Among the popular posts was that as much as the new seating structure encourages visibility and attention, it can constrain the open creative space that the old backbenchers enjoyed. Several others grumbled about ergonomics as well, speculating a stern sideways lean might make them uncomfortable for long periods of sitting.

Kerala's u-shaped seating turns classroom culture upside down

It was a general consensus among web-viewers that the shift is more than mere furniture reorganization—it reflects a larger cultural shift by schools towards student participation. By essentially eliminating the "back" of the class, these schools are symbolically abolishing knowledge hierarchies and moving towards a more democratic learning environment.

In SLTP Negeri 2 Pematang Raya research affirmed the efficacy of U-shaped seating in discussion in the classroom setting, particularly speaking lessons with grade one students. The study ended by concluding that utilising U-shaped seating allowed the teacher to give clear instructions, observe students with ease, and engage more effectively in discussion. More than 77% of the students were affirmative and responded that they enjoyed and felt at ease using the U-shaped seating layout. This is positive proof of Kerala's move to implement U-shaped classrooms as an evidenced-based strategy for elevating participation and engagement.

Though there's debate, there's no disputing the interest, fascination, and healthy dose of nostalgia created by Kerala's U-shaped classroom pilot. Whether states adopt, there's no doubt this classroom pilot has put folks thinking—about learning, where we sit, and how those decisions inform education experiences.

In a dramatic relinquishing of duty, a government upper primary school at Kapasa village in Hamirpur district was found to be being operated by an unappointed private tutor and the headmaster's personal driver, prompting instant administrative action and official inquiry.

The incident came to the light on August 8 when a parent had complained to Assistant Basic Shiksha Adhikari (ABSA) Sushil Kumar Kamal, alleging that regular teachers were absent and class was being taught by a private tutor and the headmaster's driver, Veeru Singh.

After the complaint, Kamal made an unexpected visit and confirmed that teacher Madhuri was on authorized leave, whereas headmaster Singh failed to intimate the authorities about his absence. To everyone's surprise, Singh's driver Ram Sahay was found on the school premises allegedly conducting classes.

"The situation is very unusual and unacceptable. The headmaster was absent without prior leave, and unauthorized personnel were engaged in teaching activity," Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA) Alok Kumar Singh stated in a release on Tuesday.

After verification, Singh was suspended with immediate effect and transferred to the Upper Primary School, Tikri Buzurg, Maudaha, temporarily. ABSA Prabhakar Tomar of Bharua Sumerpur has been mandated by the district administration to investigate the case thoroughly and submit a report in one week.

The occurrence raised a serious concern regarding rural school monitoring procedures and the accountability of government-appointed staff. Education officials have guaranteed severe disciplinary action will be taken based on the findings of the inquiry to prevent repetition of such offenses.

School fees can be going up exponentially year after year, but teachers claim that little to nothing gets translated into their pockets as their salaries are being raised by a meager 1,500.

They complain though the managements request them to give them a notice if they intend to resign from the school by December, intimation regarding the increase in salary is given just two months after re-opening the school, and it's challenging even to search for a new job.

"Though I did my best, this year I was hiking a 1,000. The management did not state any reason. I enjoy teaching, but such a paltry salary is hard to survive on," Asiya Shireen, a high-school teacher at a city-based private school, says.\

Another educator, Sanjeev Reddy, comments, "We were provided with year admission targets. Even though new admissions have risen and fees increased by more than 30%, our pay has been kept more or less constant. Teachers, the pillar of the education system, are being overlooked. We can't even quit the school and go apply for a fresh position as they've made us sign an agreement."

The Telangana Private Teachers Forum (TPTF) members stated that the condition of teachers this year was poor since it was given a meager hike or no hike at all by majority of the schools. "There are schools which provided a hike of 500 as well. In the majority of the schools, no teacher received more than a hike of 1,500 or 2,000. This, keeping in mind the extra classes and administrative duties. Schools simply claim admissions were pathetic this time, giving it as a reason for providing dismal increments," opines Shabir Ali, president of TPTF.

He maintains that unless the govt strictly enforces regulations and makes sure that teachers are compensated adequately, managements will go on milking both teachers, by offering meagre wages, and parents, by extorting huge fees.

Managements, on their part, affirm that it is a reality that the majority of schools suffered admissions this year. "The earning of individuals from the majority of groups has decreased in the past two years because of retrenchment and bad recruitment. Therefore, many are considering govt schools, particularly boarding ones. This is applicable to not only budget schools but also others. That is why many schools were unable to provide good increments to teachers," says Y Shekhar Rao of the Telangana Recognised School Managements Association, noting that the overall school expense has also increased substantially.