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Top1. Introduction
India’s brains are being “Shaped in Four Walls” is the powerful statement made by the report submitted by the union government by the education commission in 1966 chaired by Dr. D. S. Kothari. While the present scenario is “India’s brains are being shaped both in four walls and outside the walls." The educationalists and familiar people believe strongly that education affects society and helps in shaping it. AICTE committee (2018), during the curriculum reviewing process, said that the MBA curriculum should include exposure to social responsiveness, rural innovation projects, and field learning to meet the changing requirements of the industry.
1.1 Rural Immersion Track
Life in Bharat – village environment is very different from India – the urban, industrialized. Rural India needs the manager who can understand the Bharat and draft their policies accordingly (iimu.ac.in, 2021). To meet the need of the hour, the School of Management Studies and Research (SMSR) designed and implemented Rural Immersion (RI) track in the MBA curriculum to give experiential learning to the students. The course has the ability to explore student’s potential, apply classroom learning to real-time environment, explore rural markets and behaviors, and fill the gaps using management techniques. RI is a track spread across four semesters (with four credits and more than 100 man-hours of work content) of the MBA program, and each phase has objectives to be met. The stakeholders are students, institutions, industry, and society.
To apply classroom learning in a real-time environment, SMSR has chosen a village Budarsinghi located 11km from Hubballi Taluk, Dharwad district of Karnataka. Based upon a survey at Budarshinghi village, students have identified three key areas such as educational, women empowerment, and civic awareness. Each factor has its contributions and limitations in its development function. According to research, there is no single factor that would alone be responsible for rural development. This study aimed to examine program outcomes (POs) attained through the RI track among MBA students of the 2016-18 batch while addressing the key areas.
1.2 Program Outcomes
Program outcomes are the expected outcomes from a graduate upon completion of graduation. These are stated in terms of statement and are very specific and precise (Ramaswamy and Chiplunkar, 2017; Premalatha, 2019). PO’s are statements that include necessary skill sets, acquaintance, behavior, and values that a graduate should possess (Kasimatis and Massa, 2017).
2. Literature Review
The World Bank has defined Rural Development "as a strategy designed to improve the economic and social life of a specific group of people-the rural people. Santanu and Anup (2013) mentioned that rural development generally refers to the phase of transmission that focuses on improvements in multi-facets like the quality of life and economic condition of people located in far-off and remote areas. Sreekanthachari and Nagaraj (2013) mentioned that the crucial motivating factor for developing the economy in today's time is education and acts as a backbone of the economy. Dipankar and Sugata (2014) researched that it is essential to have a good educated equipped with knowledge that boosts inclusive growth for sound economic growth. Pangannavar (2015) said that rural development comprises various activities like agriculture, infrastructure development, fair wages, complete housing, health promotion, formal education, village outlining, and nutrition. The rural woman is the primary focus of village development as they focus on overall activities that lift the family's economic condition and turn the village.
Gonda (2014) concluded in his studies that education helps in changing society. It affects society as a whole and helps to build a more civilized society. According to the author, familiar people and educationalists also believe that delivering education upholds society. An article by Luvalo (2014) asserts that besides teaching and research, institutions of higher learning have an essential role to play in changing the lives of the people in rural areas. Universities have frequently been regarded as key institutions in the process of social change and development.