I taught at IIT and I know we have the best students. IITs were not started by Indian Government, rather by Public Law 480 form USA (They gave wheat during our drought days, and invested the money to start the IIT Kanpur, similarly IIT Delhi by UK, IIBombay by Russia and so on). Once they left the control to the Indian Government, every started failing. No IIT has world class research labs and facilities. The faculty have no time for research. Until now most industries never supported IITs in any big way. Next, faculty. The original directors of IITs traveled to the various parts of the world and begged the best to return. Nothing like that takes place now. With poor salary (controlled by teachers/ Govt. unions, a mere Rs 30,000 starting salary never gets any best from the West. After paying 30% income tax, bribe etc., nothing is left for future savings. So, world class faculty is not returning to India. So, I and others left and are happy that you can all have India for yourself. Those who are returning have just middle class aptitude and aspiration and cannot survive in the West. Less than 0.005% of the IITns and IIMs have become entrepreneurs in the USA. 85% of the IITians and IIM graduates live in India with a middle class life making money.
So, unless the IITs pay 2-3 lakhs per month salary and bring the faculty with cutting edge technology knowledge and experience, HR ministry can open 1,000 IITs and IIMs, but they will never create intellectual properties and the
I really don't understand why she is quoting Daniel Golden of all the people and that too making an examle of the US education system which is considered the best in the world. Probably she secretly desires that she had graduated from Harvard instead of our own IIM. First of all I doubt very much the figures in Daniel's book because no university in USA will give out their recruitment figures much less if they know they are going to be publicised and going to be attacked. I totally disagree with her opinion - The IITs and IIMs are symbolic of the Great Indian Dream -. First of all what is this GREAT INDIAN DREAM? And how many IITians and IIMians have actually achieved this? She makes such sweeping statements and offers no proof nor examples. I am not even sure what is trying to prove. She needs to become a better journalist and convince her readers.
I wish writer had written a better article. It looks like she hasn't overcome her latest read book of Daniel Golden and writing a snapshot on that. IITs and IIMs have reservations - this is a fact. I am not sure about it, however, whether kids of Faculty members in IITs and IIMs do not have any kind of preference or a lower CAT? And, what is wrong with receiving donation from alumni? Many alumni do not give money to their colleges for admitting their kids but also as a respect towards their 'almamater'. Govt. cannot support all the institutions and donating to educational institutions was always considered respecful in Indian values (including religious values of Hindus & Muslims)- DAV movement is a live example. This concept is completely missing in India and IIT, as I know have started accepted donation from alumni - some of the publicly known exmples are Nandan Nilekani of Infosys and naming of Vinod Gupta School of Management. And, creating world class institutes takes year of hard work and they cannot be created overnight - I agree, Indian Govt. is slow, but the first step is to plan. Before 1991, who really cared about IIM's - they existed for 20 years. And, what about other renowned Universities we have - Delhi, JNU, Jadavpur, Shanti Niketan - they have produced winners of Nobel and other literary prizes. Its not only the technology or business which makes a successful society. Hope, an IIM Grad would be able to appreciate holistic view rather then concentrating on
RE:Ms. Bansal - Holistic Approach?
by derc cruse on Sep 14, 2007 09:02 PM Permalink
Hey you forgot to mention the Universities that are affiliated to the most numbers of Nobel laureates-University of Calcutta, and University of Punjab. JNU, Delhi, Jadavpur, Shanti Niketan- who got nobel from these????
It is true that still IIT has to prove a nobel laureate from its alumnai-so far none
Most IITians are just bright bookworms and most spend mediocre life. Government spends so much on them and At the first sight of %u2018abroad%u2019 and they run away. There they spend mediocre life. They pay nothing back in return. It is the IT guys and IIM who have changed the country while IITns who act like herd of nerdy cows stick together and produce nothing not even milk.
RE:IITns the nerdy cows
by derc cruse on Sep 14, 2007 09:04 PM Permalink
THat is wrong. Lots of IItians are doing great in industry. Matter of fact IIM is full of IITians. So dont hate IIt ians just because you dont have such backgound. Even Bill Gates appreciates IITians
RE:RE:IITns the nerdy cows
by I and IM on Sep 15, 2007 02:12 AM Permalink
Corrections most of IITans never rose to occasion when their country needed them they spend their existence 3-4 level deep in a company in small village of USA While they could have been real champions in India. This after taking our tax money education from government,
For years IIT is churning out all so called brilliant minds what have they done for the country?
Another characteristic of an IITians they stick around to other IITians like sabudana the nerds in a college but they do it throughout their life in return producing nothing for the society that paid for their education.
Those IITans who have been to IIM have improved. IIM empowers them. They also become better socially and this is true for anyone who comes out IIM.
Bill Gates is a businessman and IIT for him is ready crop that he can enslave by throwing a few chips here and there. So, Ghoda Gaas se dosti hi karega aur kya karega?
The real revolution in India was braught in by the visionaries likes of Reliance, Infosys, the whole IT community, Managers and Yes some government%u2019s fiscal policies. Not by sabudana techies of IIT.
You said "IITs and IIMs are untouched by quotas" I would like to correct this. Unfortunately there are already 15% SC and 7.5% ST quotas in these institutes. What HRD ministry wants now is 27% more quota for BC in addition to the existing 22.5%. There are reservations in (nonacademic) staff recruitment also. Luckily there are no reservations for faculty recruitments (to the best of my knowledge) to ensure the excellence.
i think it is the good idea to built new of them but student should give their education to their country and not the other country and in the matter of goverment and the politics involving in the invoving in that it will never get rid of this . Our ministers has to think that in education no poltics should be involved then only our education will increase and giving admission to the students only on the basis of their marks or their talents.
In fact India lacks good institutes and IIT and IIMs in present foprm are as useless as any other.only they have lot of resources wasted at cost of GOI and are hyped.WE should open atleast 50 top quality technilogy insdtitutes inn india with a capacity of 400 students each.Same way atleast 20 B schools are required to be opnened with intake of 200 seats each to meet need of quality executives and engineers in India if we really mean world class. These institutes should be out clutches of polticians,useless PhDs and academicinas of no worth.They should synthesise best of academic knowledge with practical applications.We need a new type of set up for recognition,administration and teachers quality and qualifications.earlier we do the better it is.
RE:Only dreams no contents
by Rahul Saurav on Sep 14, 2007 06:10 AM Permalink
If Ph.D. is useless then who will teach you to be a Prof. and come to the point at which you are standing now?(if you are really Prof. R K Gupta). It is knowledge that project the face of a nation in front of world community. See the case of China...and improvement...having more Ph.D. in world than any other country...
Coming from a philosophy background, when I read through Rashmi's article this seems so sub standard and immature for an IIM grad. My question to Rashmi are you sure you graduated from IIMA? What is the intention of your column, are you trying to run an add for your nonselling magazine JAM, you already assumed it is popular. Can you convince me why will I go to IIM to do my MBA, if I join a call center now I will start earning right away (that is a paradox a business mind)
RE:Substandard article
by I and IM on Sep 14, 2007 01:24 AM Permalink
Hey Bozo,
One it is not add it ad. Second she at least has a magazine and an article to show what do you have? Third, If you are in call center you will always remain a Bozo but you will refine yourself if you join IIM. Anyway, looking at your comments there is hardly any chance that we will accept you in IIM.
RE:Substandard article
by Tushar Kant on Sep 14, 2007 11:54 AM Permalink
Hey I an IM, are you the brother or sister or any other relative of her? Ask her to change the magazine approach you bozo. Who is reading magazine these days, you bozo is stuck here in internet reading this bozo article. Now by the way, did IIMA taught her this way to do bozo business, that is why I had the doubt whether she really graduated from IIMA, newspaper business going out of business.
As I told, with so much displayed common sense I do not need to go to IIM, I will rather do something wise, read the book "What they do not teach you at HBS" and join a call center.
