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An Inadequate Degree of Communication Leaves Students With More Questions
Students registered for the IIT Patna and IIM Bodh Gaya integrated dual degree programme are complaining about the institutions’ lack of communication regarding the programme’s fees, structure, and placements. The BS-MBA five-year programme, which began this year after students were admitted via JoSAA counselling, facilitates direct admission to a JEE Advanced route to an engineering degree and an MBA without a CAT score.
This proposal was of great interest to many students, as it was an unusual opportunity to obtain two degrees from Institutes of National Importance within a single academic route. However, in the opinion of students who enrolled in the programme, the programme’s reality is far from what was originally proposed.
The dual degree programme, which is the first of its kind in National Institutes of Importance, was the result of the signing of an MoU between Vinita S Sahay, the Director of IIM Bodh Gaya, and TN Singh, the Director of IIT Patna.
The five-year renewable agreement regulates the joint dual degree programme and facilities for joint research, international joint ventures, and placements. In theory, this agreement promotes cooperation between the two institutes.
The reality of what students are currently experiencing reflects the gap that exists between institutional announcements and the operational follow-up that students rely on.
Fee Structure and Course Progression Concerns Remain Alarming
The greatest concern for students and their families appears to be the fees. Independent estimates quote Bodh Gaya's Dual Degree Programme tuition at Rs. 28.50 lakhs. The students routed through the IIT Patna Programme are working with a different financial structure. It consists of two separate fee regimes with two separate institutions. The Programme’s split campus structure causes families to prepare for two distinct fee regimes over the period of five years. However, a unified breakdown for both campuses has not been provided, if at all.
The gaps in communication that students have identified are:
- A single, multi-year fee regime for both IIT Patna and IIM Bodh Gaya
- Does the IIT Patna income-linked tuition waiver extend to IIM Bodh Gaya?
- A clearly defined academic roadmap outlining each phase at each campus
- What are the minimum CGPA requirements to move from the IIT Patna phase to the IIM Bodh Gaya phase?
The design of this program will have students first complete engineering coursework at IIT Patna and then learn management at IIM Bodh Gaya. This design works well when there are clear parameters for what the transition will look like, associated timelines, and rules for credit transfers.
In the absence of these details, students are left to wonder under what conditions their academic progress is going to be assessed. They are also left to wonder if missing the target in any semester will mean they are ineligible to complete the management portion in the program.
Placement Uncertainty in a First-Generation Program
The high stakes of uncertainty surrounding placement outcomes are evident here. IIM Bodh Gaya's unaccompanied MBA 2025 placement data shows an average package of Rs. 13.10 LPA, with the highest package of Rs. 22 LPA from 175 campus placement companies.
This data is for the regular two-year MBA students. The students in the integrated IIT Patna-routed program are distinct, and there is no publicly available separate or combined placement data for this program since its initial offering in the academic year 2023-24. The students have a different statutory background.
Placement clarity is specifically critical for this cohort because:
- The MoU clearly mentions joint placement activities as an aspect of the partnership
- The students have a dual-institution profile, which does not directly correspond to either campus placement mechanism
- The first batch of students from the 2023-24 enrollment will be eligible for placement in two years
- No specific placement cell or point of contact for this program has been publicly listed
IIM Bodh Gaya's placement cell has worked hard to attract recruiters from BFSI, consulting, and other sectors. We have not been informed whether these job opportunities will reach the IIT Patna cohort, and in what capacity. For first-generation students, degree structuring is often beyond the comprehension of most recruiters, which can cause anxiety when dealing with job opportunities. The universities are responsible for developing a placement framework that specifically caters to this cohort well in advance of the start of campus job opportunities. In the meantime, students have to make a costly investment in their education while lacking the necessary information to make career choices.
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