Only ITBHU and Bengal Engineering College,Sibpore deserve IIT status because they are the pioneer of engineering education in India. Others nonresidential politically charged colleges like Jadavpur etc. have no standard as they promote students with no minimuum attendance criteria and even with six back papers in their exam. They may spoil IIT image with naxalite politics. P K Choudhury Toronto
Hello friends, It must never be forgotten that IT-BHU takes students exclusively only through IIT-JEE.. Not only it is the largest institute in Asia (area wise) , it is the first indigenous technical institute of india established way back in 1916.. Roorke was established by Britishers and IIT during initial days were supporte extensively by other countries. Infact in initial days if IITs would have not got so much money from govt and support from institute like IT-BHU, BEC, Roorke then it would have been impossible for IITs to fetch so much respect. As far as NITs are concerned, only 2-3 are in a respectable position are are below OK or "just OK".. What is the standing of Silchar, Hamirpur, Srinagar, Surat, Allahabad, Raurkela etc. These institutes not long ago and till now have more than 50% reservation. In MNNIT Allahabad thay had 50% horizontal reservation and 33% girls reservation.. That is rediculus. That's why even though I (amd most of my batchmates) were getting CSE at these types of NITs but we prefer not to join such institutes where such a HUGE reservation is there and not long ago they were selecting students from only State Engg. Entrance Exams.
RE:Only IT-BHU deserves
by Ganesh Prasad on Sep 03, 2005 11:42 AM Permalink
You are right. IT-BHU deserves to be called an IIT because the students it admits have passed the same stringent entrance exam as those at the other IITs. If IT-BHU fails to become an IIT while other colleges acquire that label, I would personally be very surprised and disappointed.
Unless the new "IITs" undertake to admit students *exclusively* on the basis of their JEE performance, they will not be true IITs, and the IIT brand will suffer on account of the resulting dilution of quality.
Make no mistake about it, it is not the quality of faculty or the facilities or the level of funding that makes the IITs what they are. It is the rigid insistence on candidates' performance in the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) that separates the wheat from the chaff right at the beginning. Such students will do well no matter which college they attend. Dilute this admission criterion by substititing other exams for the JEE, and prepare to watch the IIT reputation gradually crumble.
Yes, we would all like to see more Indian students graduate each year proudly wearing the IIT label, but there is a right way and a wrong way to go about it. The JEE is key. I hope the powers that be do not fall prey to political expediency by ignoring its crucial role!
RE:Don't dilute the IIT brand
by Arvind Singh on Aug 23, 2005 12:33 AM Permalink
Hi, I feel u have hit the Right Note.. It's the JEE that seperates the real ones and not the faculty or facilities at IITs. Then why have u missed the name of IT-BHU which is exclusively taking students only through JEE since 1972, but only getting 1/10th of the funding which any IIT gets. Mind u more than 70% students (including me)of IT-BHU could have easily secured a seat at any IIT, but either we opted for a better branch or that it was close to the native place which made us to opt for (or that we got during counselling) for IT-BHU AND I know that hardly makes any IT-BHU guy inferior to any IIT guy. First compare the pathbraking work of IT-BHU in the field of Hydrogen technology as an alternative commercial fuel for INDIA with urs then go on to comment abut IIT-JEE and IT-BHU.
One has to be very selective to award IIT status to any institute. How can non-residential engineering colleges like Jadavpur University etc. be considered for IIT when their style of functioning like a day college with class schedule from 11AM to 4PM ,politically charged,frequent srike going atmosphere do not match at all with the IIT culture. Moreover they neither have the required nos.of hostels,nor the faculty residences necessary for a fully reisdential campus like IIT.It is almost impossible for students and faculty to change from a liberal,strike loving, coffee house culture to IIT culture where regularity, discipline and hardwork are the hallmark of their characteristics. Prabal K Choudhury Toronto Canada
RE:March of new IITs
by Partha Sarathy on Aug 24, 2005 08:14 AM Permalink
Dear Dr Yogesh Upadhyaya The last line of article says "The only thing missing will be an IIT tag." The article also says "All the six colleges were asked to take at least 50 per cent of the students from the All Indian Engineering Entrance Exam." How is that you still say that once they become IITs they can take JEE. The IITs were not willing to include BITS Pilani in their elite club and it remains to be seen that how they agree for these institutions!! Its best thse institutions decide their standards of admission than to join the Bansal patented Kota quotaed over hyped out of plus 2 syllabus IIT JEE....
Identity Crisis
by Partha sarathy on Aug 24, 2005 08:03 AM Permalink
Mr Upadhyaya claims that once these institutions become new IITs they can take admission through JEE. If you read the article claerly you will observe that it is mentioned that "One of the most important factors to be considered for becoming IITs is the overall student quality and the ways of improvement. All the six colleges were asked to take at least 50 per cent of the students from the All Indian Engineering Entrance Exam. " If AIEEE is imposed by the same govt which is rechristening these reputed institutions as IITs then they will be left to take the left overs from the IIT JEE for the rest 50%!!!
If the government thinks that by allocating few crores budget and by satisfying state quotas like one for AP, One for Kerala etc and by imposing AIEEE on these as such reputed institutions, they will become IITs god bless the nation. What is the logic of the government for imposing AIEEE on these new IITs when they could have jolly well joined the existing IIT JEE. By not letting these new IITs join the existing JEE, a new caste equation will be spelt in the nation. Let the govt scrap the so called over hyped out of 10 plus 2 syllabus IIT JEE and replace it by AIEEE. The new IITs should have the freedom to decide their mode of admissions. They may probably start IIT NJEE (New Joint Entrance Exam !!)and promote more and more coaching institutions and one can see Mr Bansal and his gang smiling at Kota for their coaching quota. They may take a bold stand and may even join the path breaking BITSAT exam of BITS, Pilani. That calls for guts. These new IITs may retain their state loyalties and rename themselves as Kerala IIT, AP IIT etc and in Bengal the already existing IIT KGP may be renamed WBIIT1 and others WBIIT2, WBIIT3 etc. Every guy named Amitabh Bachan is not a Super Star. Amen!!
IIT... a name which is respected all over the world...IIT is not an abbreviation for Idiot's Institute of Technology that our govt has decided to convert it in. Opening 7 IITs straightaway means the davastating dilution of the strong brand equity that IIT name holds today...and the enlisted colleges for this upgradation dont seem to be in a state to get the tag IIT.
and even if there is ardent desperation to change their status, why not to NIT then?? Roorkee which was converted to IIT in 2001 has still not been able to reach the standards of other IITs when it already had reputation and infrastructure at par with them. But these are not the only measures, what matters more is good students at an institute which roorkee lacked before becoming an IIT and the coming batch suffered.
So Our authorities should not be so sophomoric and think for the welfare of the present and potential IITians before taking this inane action...or else I can simply pity those poor students whose future is doomed...
RE:7 more IITs???
by Prabal K Choudhury on Aug 23, 2005 09:17 PM Permalink
Among the seven, ITBHU(1911) and Bengal Engg.College(1856) Sibpore are the two institutes which provided all the faculties or even Directors needed during the formative stages of IITs and thereafter. Because of lack of funds,these two institutes could not come upto the IIT level. In sixties, there were many students including myself who opted for these two institutes inspite of qualifying in IITJEE, only because either they did not get the desired discipline or could not afford the cost of IIT education. BEC Sibpore have produced IIT Directors like Dr.S R .Sengupta and Dr. Amitabha Ghosh who made IITKgp the best IIT for four cosecutive years (2000 to 2003) and also the Director of SPA New Delhi Prof. Mitra. Do you need further credentials to make BEC an IIT ? Prabal K Choudhury Director Strategic Management and Financial Services Inc.Toronto
This is overlooking commonsense in the face of popular demand. If your economy is cash starved you dont become rich by printing more and more currency notes. Why do the existing institutes need the IIT tag to reach glory. Are they so lame ? They just want to eat upon the hard work doen by IITs.
Let them develop themselves. Give then all support. Let them rise above IITs and lets see some brand competition
It seems the HRD ministry has lost touch with commonsense.
Author has not even left any e-mail address as his contact info. Can anybody tell me how to write into rediff guest columns. I need to pitch an article to neutralise the people who think they r doing good by creating new IITs.
It is nice to see that there will be more IITs in India in near future. But I fail to understand how nonresidential engineering colleges like Jadavpur University will adapt itself to IIT culture. These institutes function like day collegs where students and faculty are used to 10.30 AM to 4.00 PM class schedule and a liberal politicised atmosphere going on strikes frequently.They have neither the required student hostels nor faculty residences required for IITs where both students and faculty compulsorily stay in the campus. Moreover existing faculty members used to live outside the campus may not agree to live inside the campus as required in IITs. Their culture and functioning style are totally different from residential colleges like IITs and it may be almost impossible for the students and faculty to change to a highly disciplined regulated culture like IITs form a very liberal atmosphere. P K Choudhury Director Strategic Management and Financial Services Inc. Toronto
