The Curious Case Of the IITs

"There is hardly any worthwhile research from our IITs. The faculty in the IIT is not world class. It is the students in IITs who are world class. So the IITs (Indian Institute of Technology) and IIMs (Indian Institute of Management) are excellent because of the quality of students not because of quality of research or faculty"

Yesterday, Mr.Jairam Ramesh our Hon'ble Minister for Environment and Forests(MoEF) made this startling remark. This is in-turn has prompted a retort from teachers of the two premier institutions of the country. Okay Lets leave this comment aside and assess what his comment was meant (to be).

First, Of course IITs & IIMs are the epic centers of highly concentrated brains in science and management alike. To get into anyone of these you should either have genes inherited from the kins of the Aryabhattas and Einsteins or atleast you should have the patience to gorge yourself into the books 24X7.

I always wondered if (in worst case scenario) i got admissions into any one of these, how would be my life like? N.B: I dont intend to joke on their integrity or the tremendous skill they posses. But the truth in India was in the early 60s and 70s, if you were born a boy, you were to take engineering as profession. keeping this growing trend in their long-term plans the Govt. of India established few more of these institutions.  And BANG!!! a new era starts. Now it was a nightmare for anybody if he took any commerce or Arts as University subjects. B.A. was nothing but a degree and was treated like.... (yes you can make it). Engineering was the 'degree of opulence' in Indian households. But getting into these was a herculean task from the beginning itself.

Long sleepless nights, depressed all for the sake of 'family honour'.

Times changed, this is 21st century. though we have more liberal households now the procedure for the so called science students remain the same.
Peolple lable it as one of the toughest entrance exams in the world. Although as a result the students infused after admission are like specimens of living Einsteins the faculty hasn't changed much. The success of IITs depend on the quality infusion of students. faculty has more role to play. Thats why being one of the premier institutions in the country we fail to share the big stage with other 'world-class' institutions. I am extremely proud of the 'quality of our education' though : Its the best in the planet.

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