IIT, IIM Faculty Strike Back

Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh's comment on IITs and IIMs not having world-class faculty led to a debate among political parties, academicians and students on Tuesday.

While the political battle brewed, academicians, students and alumni had mixed response on the issue.

Alumni associations from the IIT-Delhi and IIT-Kharagpur demanded higher salary and perks for the faculty to attract new minds and sustain IIT as a brand globally.

"The current pay scales of IIT faculty are very unattractive. A fresh graduate attracts more salary," IIT Kharagpur Alumni Association member Y.P.S. Suri said.

Programme Director of the IIT Delhi Alumni Association V.K. Saluja agreed.

Disagreeing, Sebastian Morris, a professor at IIM Ahmedabad, said that if faculty had no role, students would have been recruited directly after the joint entrance exams (JEE) for the IITs or the common aptitude test (CAT) for the IIMs.

"If only good students have made to the IITs and the IIMs, then the question is why don't recruiting agencies offer jobs directly to those who score high on JEE and CAT? Surely, organisations can do without the training that these 'mundane' institutions provide," Morris said.

"Also many IIT and IIM faculty are themselves alumni of these institutions or have degrees from world-class institutions. If the majority of the faculty have such pedigree, then by Jairam's own admission of the students being good, the faculty (at least as individuals) should be excellent," he added.

While HRD Minister Kapil Sibal and alumni supported Jairam Ramesh's view, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) slammed the minister for blaming the institutions for inefficiency.

Ramesh had Monday said that the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), the country's top educational institutions, were surviving only because of their quality students but did not have world-class faculty.

Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal Tuesday agreed that India lacked in world-class standards.

Slamming the statement, the BJP said India can have such institutions only when it has "world-class ministers".

"We'll not have world-class institutions till we have world-class ministers," party spokesman Rajiv Pratap Rudy said.

"The BJP would like to state categorically that we are proud of the IITs and the IIMs. All over the world, the presence of India is marked by IITs and IIMs," he said.

The Congress also said that the IITs and IIMs are world-class institutions.

"As far as IITs and IIMs are concerned, there is no ambiguity about their contribution to Indian academia. I do not know in what context Ramesh made this remark," said Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari.

Source: igovernment

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Wed, 05/25/2011 - 18:06

Pushkal Kumar Pandey (not verified)

IIT and IIM

BJP has had a change of heart on IITs and IIMs? Not long back its Education Minister Mr Murli Manohar Joshi had gone after them with a vengeance. In fact it is he and his successor Arjun Singh did the most damage to the IITs and IIMs. Students slam Joshi's remarks on IITs Jan 18, 2004 Faculty and students of IIT Kharagpur and the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIMC), on Saturday, lashed out at Union HRD minister Murli Manohar Joshi, who had gone on record saying IIMs and IITs were producing mediocre students and wasting the huge sum of money being granted to them. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2004-01-18/kolkata/555-5555_1_iits-and-iims-iit-kharagpur-murli-manohar-joshi January 28, 2004 For over two years now, though the attack is a lot sharper nowadays, Human Resources Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi [ Images ] has been waging a battle against what he feels is rampant elitism on the part of premier educational institutions like the Indian Institutes of Management and the Indian Institutes of Technology. According to the minister, these institutions don't justify the grants they get, they're overstaffed, do little research and basically cater to the needs of the elite. http://www.rediff.com/money/2004/jan/28guest.htm

Wed, 05/25/2011 - 14:06

Swami Manohar (not verified)

Sanjay Goel's comment on "IITs and IIMs Strike back"

Very balanced and scholarly comment and an outlook worthy of emulation by both our politicians and our Academicians.

Wed, 05/25/2011 - 14:05

Wed, 05/25/2011 - 13:55

Sanjay Goel (not verified)

IIT IIM strike back

Not being 'world class' does not mean that these institutes are not good or are not good for the industry/country. A spade is a spade. Facts must be accepted before jumping at conclusion. As per various international rankings, our institute are not among the top institutes as per any list. How many Nobel laureates work at our institutes? How many IIT BTech's aspire to join 'world class' IIT's for Master's or PhD? How much of world changing research has been carried out at our institutes? How many patents are in the name of our institutes? How many world class companies have been incubated by our institutes? I think that we in the academic community should take the criticism with more open mind. Why live with an illusion of being world class without actually attaining the high standrads of MIT/Stanford/Berkeley/Harvard/Oxford/CMU etc.? World class cannot be expected to come in academics, while the elements of ecosystem are not world class. Is faculty's compensation world class? Is our students' and parents' perception about purpose of education world class? Can we dare to administer our exams without invigilators? Can we assume that our students will not indulge in plagiarism in their assignments? Is our funding mechanism world class? Is our faculty selection process world class? Are our Institute governance systems world class? Is venture capital availability world class? In fact, rather than taking it as a threat, this criticism by the minister should be used as an opportunity by the academic community of India. In a way, it's good that there is a realization that we don't have world class institutes. It's even better that we feel pained at it. Recognition and acceptance of the problem are the first necessary conditions for finding its solution. Hence, the academic community should now come out with blueprints for transforming various elements of the larger eco-system and demand the enabling conditions that are necessary for creating world class institutes. Afterall, Rome was not built in a day. Cheers and lets work harder.

Fri, 05/27/2011 - 05:28

Anonymous (not verified)

I agree with these statements to uplift these institutions and not to make too many IITs and IIMs, to degrade the quality systems of such institutions who are the national pride and must exist to make India shining in future S&T forums. System should be online debate and feedback based with the feedback of NRIs, top ranking Industries, educationist and peoples to make it transparent, no red tapism should touch such places and such people should be replaced from the responsibility to elsewhere to bring right talents. There should be no lobby or mafia culture in education and R&D otherwise it would be a serious setback to the nation in the long run, we will be only a market and producting substandard manpower (only skilled labour) in the global market but not a leader in S&T forum. We must face the reality and constructive comments must be well taken. Only raising the pay will not make a world class academic or R&D institutions in the country but it needs better working culture in an organization, crazy scholars and that could be only restored to make the system transparent, respect to knowledge and works, criticism based. Knowledge makes a person humble but not a bureaucrat. There should be no action against a person who are giving online feedbacks in an open forum for sick units to make it healthy.I support these comments in the national interest, I think that we in the academic community should take the criticism with more open mind. Why live with an illusion of being world class without actually attaining the high standrads of MIT/Stanford/Berkeley/Harvard/Oxford/CMU etc.?".

Wed, 05/25/2011 - 12:46

YOGI UDGIRE (not verified)

Why not dwell on the Issue rather fight over it.

Mr. Kapil Sibal has agreed and its for everyone of us to see,know and understand that we are not in top 100. So why miss the Opportunity to come together and devise an Action plan to be amongst top 10 globally in next 3-7 years tims Cheers YOGI UDGIRE

Edu-leaders

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