Eight rural management schools in the country have joined hands to improve rural management. The schools together has established the National Association of Rural Management Schools (NARMS). The initiative will work to provide a thrust to development in rural management, which still lack proper facilities and infrastructure.

The eight schools under this association are Institute of Rural Management (IRM), Anand; KIIT School of Rural Management, Bhubaneshwar; XIMB; Gandhigram Rural University, Gujarat; Xavier Institute of Development Action and Studies, Jabalpur; GB Pant Social Science Institute, Allahabad; Institute of Health Management and Research, Jaipur; and EDI, Gandhinagar.

“Different institutions involved in offering education on rural management have their perspectives, goals, curriculum and pedagogy structured around varying objectives,” says Nikhilesh Desai, head, business development cell, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDI). “The need is to standardize the structure and make rural management relevant.”

The association will work as a body that drives better rural management education and will also collaborate to offer joint programmes, host international conferences and workshops, provide scholarships and even advise and impact national policies in the area of rural management.

The association will be headquartered at Institute of Rural Management, Anand, and Dr Jeemol Unni, director of IRM will be its chairperson. Dr Dinesh Awasthi, director of EDI will be the secretary.