Is status quo the best thing? ISB had a grade non-disclosure policy during its first year. What it means is that the school and the students will not disclose the grades to the recruiters. The fact that the students have been picked up through a rigorous selection process, that the curriculum at the school is quite demanding and that the school has reputation and ethics not to give pass grade to someone who has flunked just to be able to place the guy, should be reason enough for the recruiters to come and pick up students. Of course, subject to interview process.

ISB has a disclosure policy now, but limited to letting students report their grades to recruiters. ISB will not release our grades to recruiters. Without our permission, that is. Now, some of the students have been trying to bring the topic of non-disclosure for debate so that we as a student body can decide which system is better. There are arguments on both sides. Nothing is right or wrong. But one system will foster a particular milieu on the campus; the other will foster a different set of experiences. Since there is enough student diversity, people will have different views and preferences. But in the overall interest of not only the current batch but the coming batches, a debate is essential. Efforts made by one of the colleagues are not being encouraged. Let the term exams pass, I will also do my mite in trying to generate a debate.

All those well known b-schools have non-disclosure policy. The point is they take students with work experience and mind you those who have already succeeded and proven their mettle back at work. Using a yardstick of grades alone is a wrong way of going about. This is the logic these schools use. Yet all the major companies go to these schools for recruitment.

The problem here is Indian education system. IIMs take freshers. What better way to judge freshers than to look at their grades. The entire recruitment scenario in India is geared up to picking up guys from these management schools where most of them are freshers. In fact, Mckinseys and BCGs of the world deviate from their global policies to suit Indian education system. Given these, bringing about a change in our – be it the students or recruiters – orientation towards grades is difficult.

Starting a debate, however, should not be.

PS: If anyone has any points to add for or against, please drop a comment.