'Some kind of idiot': Zerodha's Nikhil Kamath on MBA students; claims 'colleges are dead'

NEW DELHI: Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath has questioned the value of traditional higher education, especially MBA programs, saying that, "colleges are dead."Speaking during Zerodha’s 15th anniversary discussion, co-founder Nithin Kamath said that formal education is being rapidly outpaced by open and digital learning platforms."Colleges are dead. If you’re 25 and still going to an MBA college, you must be some kind of idiot," he said, arguing that "everything taught in MBA programs is freely available on YouTube," and that learners can now access even more detailed and up-to-date lessons online, ET reported.Kamath said artificial intelligence has made self-learning easier than ever. "I can go to ChatGPT and research or even build a case study in a way that an MBA college could have taught me.

The syllabus is not as dynamic as the open-sourced world is," he said.He also questioned the practicality of investing time and money in an MBA degree saying, "If you want to alleviate insecurities, there are better ways than spending two years and a lot of money on an MBA."When some participants noted that MBA programs can help students from smaller towns gain the confidence to enter the corporate world. Kamath argued that such confidence shouldn’t come at such a high cost.

He also pointed out that major global firms are already moving away from degree-based hiring."When large companies like Meta or Apple say that qualifications don’t matter in job applications, it’s only a matter of time before that approach trickles down here," he said, ET reported.While acknowledging that some colleges still offer valuable mentorship, Kamath said such institutions are rare in India. He further predicted that vocational and skill-based learning will soon surpass traditional degrees as companies increasingly prioritize practical expertise over formal qualifications.