Benchmarking the assessment of barriers to the admission of management education in India during the COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose This paper proposes a decision-making framework for assessing various dimensions and barriers that have affected the admission process in management educational institutions during the ongoing pandemic. The framework considers the interrelationship between the obstacles and highlights the importance of each barrier. Design/methodology/approach An integrated method based on decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory and analytical network process is proposed to structure the barrier assessment framework. Results obtained from the study are validated by comparing them against the conventional analytical hierarchy process. Findings The results obtained from this study indicate four significant dimensions that hinder admission in Indian management institutes, namely, governmental, financial, sectoral, institutional and market. The top five barriers are demand shift towards technical (alternative) skills, acceptance of the graduated students, lack of industry-institute collaboration, lack of long-term vision and opening new Indian Institute of Technologies (IITs) and Indian Institute of Managements (IIMs). Research limitations/implications During this ongoing pandemic, many educational institutes have been forced to shift from the traditional classroom to a virtual teaching model. In this regard, this study helps identify and assess the barriers to admission in Indian management institutes during this epidemic and thus, contribute to the literature. The findings will assist all stakeholders and policymakers of management institutions design and develop appropriate managerial strategies. The study is conducted in the Indian management educational institute context and can be extended to technical education institutions for deeper insights. Originality/value The paper develops an assessment framework for analysing the barriers to admission in Indian management institutes during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Research implications are discussed in the context of a developing country.