3,000 MBA students may not get any mark for 'unauthorised' MBA training

BENGALURU: A first-of-its-kind SAP training attended by more than 3,000 final year MBA students of Bangalore University has come under a cloud. While a probe is underway , its outcome could have a bearing on students' results.

Apparently, the programme was never part of the syllabus and was not authorised.

The Canara Bank School of Management Studies (CBSMS), which is Bangalore University's B-school, is in the dock for allowing affiliated colleges to collect Rs 6,900 from each third-semester MBA student for a training programme by Connaissance IT, an authorised SAP training centre. The 8-10 week programme, which concluded recently , was worth 50 marks, equivalent to the semester's project work.

SAP (Systems, Applications and Products) is an enterprise software that helps businesses manage operations and customer relations. The 3,178 students who underwent the training may not get any marks for it as the university is unlikely to consider it as part of the syllabus.“They cannot get any result,“ acting vice-chancellor M Muniraju said.Although he is also the dean of commerce, he said he was not informed about the training.

“It's a scam. How can you rope in a private company without permission from statutory bodies in the university?“ he asked. “The course regu lation says that the 50-mark project should be a live project in an organisation. In this case, SAP training was held and marks given.“

He claimed to have documents and evidence to prove the scam but refused to share them.

The matter was discussed in the Syndicate (which is the university's highest decision-making body) meeting recently , where members felt that SAP training should have been an add-on course, not project work. A six-member probe panel headed by St Joseph's College of Commerce principal Daniel Fernandes has been constituted. “It's a serious issue but I cannot comment at this point,“ Fernandes said. At this meeting, the university's finance officer termed it a “financial irregularity .“

The course regulation requires students to undertake a project work “on a live management problemissue concerning either an organisation or otherwise.“ SAP training falls under this, argued CBSMS director K Janardhanam, denying any scam.“SAP is not in the syllabus but instead of creating a controversy , one needs to appreciate the fact that students got trained in something that will help their career.“

BG Satyaprasad, director, GT Institute of Management Studies and Research, backed Janardhanam.“52 colleges got together and decided to conduct the SAP training at a subsidised rate of Rs 6,900. This helped students, who would have otherwise spent up to `10,000 on project work,“ he said.