)
Dear Students,
LAST WEEK WE ASKED: Do you think there should be more number of IIT, IIM and AIIMS' campuses in the country?
BEST RESPONSE
Superficially the idea appears great, since people in every state would have access to a world class institute nearer to home. But when existing IIMs, IITs are facing faculty shortage, setting up new ones will make the problem intense. It is better to spend that money on part of recruiting faculty and expanding the field of research. Autonomy, availability of better resource and enabling better-quality faculty are the key needs to uplift the education standard which is more necessary than geographical expansion in India. So government should give more emphasis on quality not on quantity.
- Arindam Garai, Regional College Of Management Autonomous, Bhubaneswar.
OTHER RESPONSES
Studying in IITs and IIMs is dream for any student. However, the real questions is 'Why not each and every college can be an IIT or IIM?' Why there is discrimination between the colleges? Why, the concerned authority can’t take actions when any college is not functioning well? Why the credibility of the degree is judged from the origin of it? This aspect seriously needs to be solved to avoid any kind of inferiority complex among the students who can’t 'afford' an IIT or an IIM.
- Itee Pattani, The Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda.
Increasing number of IIMs and IITs would mean brand extension. But will it be possible to maintain the homogeneous level of caliber and quality of learning across the existing and new ones? If no then there would be high risk of brand dilution and could backfire on current image. It would be more appropriate to develop colleges under the umbrella of new brands and to restructure the existing non IIT and non IIM colleges by nurturing them with required resources, keeping insight of the future long term needs of the country and industry.
- Saumay Gupta, School of Petroleum Management, PDPU, Gandhinagar.
There are already a host of IITs and IIMs which are sufficient enough to meet the present needs of our economy and the rate at which it is growing. It would be worth while to fill up vacancies in the teaching posts and make it more attractive for the female aspirants. Any further increase would only mean diluting their brand equity. It is also necessary to maintain a fair balance between the number of engineering and non engineering students (like C.As, C.W.As etc) in the IIMs and steer the examination pattern that way.
- Chukka Vishwavaram, ICAI.
There is a dire need to have more IITs, IIMs, AIIMS to reap the demographic dividend. But before that we need to consolidate existing one and build strong faculty. Overhaul in policy, government act, salary, recruitments etc need to precede before opening new institutes.In India with huge talent base so that it is not difficult to find good faculty for institutes. Changes need to be put in place first so that the foundation could be set up to provide proper infrastructure for teaching, placements and research.
- Nilaya Mitash Shanker, IIT Roorkee.
IIT, IIM and AIIMS are world class institutions in India and are known to churn out the world's best brains. They are the carriers of the Indian soft power and known for innovations. But recently new IITs, IIMs etc opened which have neither the requisite faculty nor the infrastructure to carry forward the legacy. They are having poor placements and instead of being the torch bearers, have become a liability and tarnish the image of the original ones. So, the govt. should rather promote second tier colleges and ensure that the existing ones get the required autonomy and capital.
- Karan Gupta, Delhi College of Engineering, Delhi.
Currently, there are 13 IIMs, 16 IITs, 7 AIIMS and 2 more AIIMS are supposed to open. According to students of recently opened IIMs and IITs, there are not much good placements or research activities taking place in the recently opened institutions unlike the older institutions. When there will be more IITs and IIMs it will diminish the value of brand IIT and IIM. When there is something slender then only more people try to get it and real value can be made.
- Pratik Patel, School of Petroleum Management, PDPU, Gandhinagar.
Today IIMs, IITs and AIIMS are brand not because of early presence in a particular field but because of quality education they provide and shape the talent. More IITs, IIMs and AIIMS are needed to serve the nation by providing young leaders with creative and rational mind, as well as broad visions.
- Sagar Thakkar, School of Petroleum Management, PDPU, Gandhinagar.
Setting up more IIT, IIM and AIIMS campuses in the country will diminish the dignity of such institutes and standard of education in India. Rather than increasing the number of campuses, it will be better to focus on the faculty training (professors) and providing adequate number of faculties to the prevailing institutes. Giving a chance to the corporate giants, who are willing to contribute in education sector, can also work, the government is just required to keep a check on the motto of providing quality education.
- Kunal Seth, DAVV, Indore.
Engineering, management and medical are top career choices for youth of India. Thus most of them aim to pursue their study from the best universities in nation i.e. IIT, IIM & AIIMS, respectively. These colleges are limited in terms of seats available for aspirants. If numbers of these top colleges are increased, creating more opportunities for the students then quality shouldn't degrade because the quality of education in colleges is the reason they are top colleges. If this isn’t possible, then as a solution only the number of seats at existing colleges can be increased.
- Arpita Desai, Government Engineering College, Gandhinagar.
Establishment of IIT, IIM and AIIMS will be a major boon of the marginalised students who can't accord to go out of state. The foundation of these institutions will automatically convert each state in a education hub. Also with these steps government should come a step further with providing more research grants enabling a quality faculty and a blessing for students looking apart from lavish placements.
- Robinson Buriuly, Ramjas College, Delhi University.
The requirement of quality institutes in diverse fields is completely acquiescent. But to avoid brand dilution of IIT, IIM and AIIMS, rather than spreading their presence nationwide focus should be either on establishing new world class institutes or drastically mopping up some of the existing institutes. As it is reasonable to give such institutes few decades to establish themselves on global panorama, some deterrent factors such as faculty shortage will automatically be overcome with passage of time. Rest assured results will speak for themselves, with these institutes creating a hub for global faculty and attracting students from around the world.
- Shivam Chhabra, Integral University, Lucknow.
IITs, IIMs and AIIMS have humongous contribution in projecting our country as the pinnacle of such institutions which has showcased its caliber throughout the globe. But there is high degree of threat of brand dilution. Already new campuses are facing problems of faculty crunch, long gestation period of new campus, poor temporary infrastructure etc. Just like new bank licenses are given after 15-20 years maintaining the quality of new institutes, Government must be particular in drafting policies by providing sufficient time to new campuses to grow and reach a good alumni base.
- Siddhartha Bhatnagar, School of Petroleum Management , PDPU.
There should always be a quality-quantity trade off. A research journal EPL also states that a collaborative effect is dominated by quality. This move, to have more number of IIT, IIM and AIIMS' campuses, can be supported by the fact that there is a proliferation in the country's population and similar scenario is expected for the coming future, but is not sufficient enough to justify it. Vindication holds when the increase is backed by equal standards when it comes to faculty, infrastructure, campus etc. Thus only a quality compromise free rise in the number of campuses is recommended.
- Rakshit Maheshwari, School of Petroleum Management, PDPU, Gandhinagar.
THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: Do you think the summer internship period at institutions should be increased from two months to six months?
Your responses should reach us at edu@business-standard.com by Monday evening every week. Please ensure that your responses do not exceed 100 words. Avoid attachments and email your full name, institute's name, batch and complete mailing address. The student who gives the 'Best Response' will be awarded Rs 500.
