Proxy B-school projects for lazy, incompetent future managers from all over the world are made at tiny south Delhi shops for hefty fees. MiD DAY visits the underbelly of education
Proxy B-school projects for lazy, incompetent future managers from all over the world are made at tiny south Delhi shops for hefty fees. MiD DAY visits the underbelly of education
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B-school process outsourcing: Ravinder Garg (above), one of those who makes projects for students, and one of the shops advertising the clandestine work |
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Shekhar Kumar (name changed on request) is rushing against time to complete a project for an MBA course. He deals with complex management theories and wraps it all up professionally. His speed and dexterity could fool you into believing that Kumar is a management topper. However, he is just a graduate who has never even gone close to enrolling himself in such a professional course.
Working from his dingy cubicle in a bylane in south Delhi, Kumar is an agent who writes out proxy projects for lazy students. Projects that are supposed to be an integral part of the educational course. In return, he charges them a neat sum.
Most of these businesses are located in south Delhi's student pockets like Jiya Sarai, Ber Sarai, Neb Sarai and Katwaria Sarai. Students from some of the most reputed management schools like Faculty of Management Studies, Institute of Management Technology (Ghaziabad), Symbiosis Centre for Distance Learning (SCDL) and Amity Business School are their prospective clients.
The agents earn between Rs 1 and 3 lakh every month selling these projects. Interestingly, they are neither trained for the job nor have credibility. Most are simple graduates who have mastered this business. Only 10 to 15 agents are adequately qualified.
Kumar, who has been into this business for the last six years, said, "We receive the maximum number of projects from Indian students studying in the UK. Most of the students who manage to get admission into lesser-known colleges abroad, approach us for their thesis that is supposed to be submitted at the end of the course. Either they send a mail directly to us or their family members approach us."
The money too is better for international projects. For a simple project of 1,000 words, the student is charged anything between Rs 2.5 and 4 per word. For detailed reports and thesis, which require deep understanding of the subject, the cost can go up to Rs 25,000 to 30,000. This includes the cost of journals, printing and binding.
On an average, these agents work on 60 to 70 international and 300 national assignments every month.
While the most preferred are projects from popular courses like MBA, B Ed, MA, MCA and BCA, a few of these agents also undertake assignments of MTech students, which require more research. Projects for MBA and MCA courses are the most profitable ones.
An agent, requesting anonymity, said, "If the project is simple we deliver it in two to three hours. Complex projects may take a day or two. However, thesis or dissertation reports require a lot of time and research. So for those we need more days."
But demand has been hit by educational websites that offer to help students with projects, often posting complete reports online. "Our business has been widely affected by the websites where students tend to post the complete project. These projects can be downloaded free of cost," the agent added.
