Apropos the debate “Is IIM/IIT faculty world-class?” (June 1), I find it surprising that some people compare IIM/IIT faculty with those of so-called top-class management and technological institutions abroad. The basic question is: how should one judge the quality of faculty? Should it be based on qualifications, research papers published or original contributions in their respective field of specialisation or some other parameter? As far as imparting knowledge is concerned, I have no doubt that our faculty is the best. We have IIM and IIT students in most Fortune 500 companies. This goes to show that the faculty is indeed world class since they are producing world-class managers and technical resources.
As far as educational qualifications are concerned, there is no doubt that IIM and IIT professors are among the best in the world. The only area in which they may be lacking is original contributions. We do not have the likes of Fischer or Stiglitz in our management colleges nor do we have many who have earned a name for themselves in the field of technology.
Finally, you cannot view IIM/IIT faculty in isolation from our society. Do we have world-class politicians, administrators, technology or sportspeople? How, then, can we expect only IIT and IIM faculty to be world class?
Vivek Sharma, Navi Mumbai
II
I completely agree with Mr Ajay Pandey when he says Mr Jairam Ramesh should do more than alarm students and faculty at IITs and IIMs with his statement. If he thinks the faculty in these institutions is not world class, he should consider introducing some kind of fruitful change — especially since he is in a position to do something about it as a minister. I am not sure, however, how Mr Ramesh defines “world class”. It is well known that our students record the best GRE scores in the world.
Sukhbir Singh Kundu, Hisar, Haryana
