Monday, April 10, 2006

Is derecognition the way for IIT's and IIM's

A lot of printed space ,a lot of airtime and a whole lot of bytes have been devoted to criticize the Goverment for its decision to impose a fresh quota regime in central universities and the IIT's and IIM's .While the whole idea is unwelcome ,the inclusion of above mentioned instituions has further villified the decision makers in question.
The higher education system has universally been objurgated for its lack of quality and disconnect with real world .Employers have to invest massive amounts of money and resources to train these products of
IIT's and IIM's are the perhaps the only symbols of defiance of the monolithic cess pool that higher education in India is .Their reputation has been assidiously built over the decades ,churning out technocrats who have led world class organizations .What makes these institutions the very best is the quality of students that have walked in their hallowed portals.These have made the best of the country even better by providing a them with the resources ,the guidance,the platform and the atmosphere to excel.
Perhaps the government doesn't realize this fact and presumes these institutes have some sort of philosphers stone which is judiciously rubbed on the students so as to make them golden .
Mr.Arjun Singh in case you didn't know,the seed of a guava won't start producing grapes just because you plant it in a vineyard.
The only way to save these 'temples of modern India ' is to free them from the clutches of the government.
Time in and time out the government has thrown a spanner in the workings of these institutions,whether it be the decision to hike the fees or open international campuses .The government has ensured that it shows the adminstration of these institutions their place.
I wonder why the IIT's and IIM's do not pursue full blown autonomy .Surely they have the capability to run their business mighty well without the goverment's incessant interference .An infant needs to bottlefed and kept in a cradle ,not a mature adult.Shouldn't the government just let go and focus on providing primary and secondary education ?
I am sure that these institutions can survive without the grants the government
provides them with by hiking the fees and consulting charges.No matter how high the fees would be,soliciting loans would never be a problem.and with the kind of salaries their graduates command ,even the repayment is not an issue.
FYI ISB (Indian School of Business ,Hyderabad) which was recently in the news for President Bush's visit to its campus and the crore plus salaries is not recognized by the UGC or AICTE or xyz .It is hardly a five year old institution and has captured the imagination of the public and the corporates alike .Non affiliation and non recognition has actually ensured that the goverment has no business in its affairs,whether it be imposition of quotas or hiking of fees.
Should't the IIT's and IIM's be following an identical model,with nearly four decades of credibility in their favor??

9 comments:

Kapil said...

Non professional courses do not require the same degree of vigilance that say ..a humanities course.
This is primarily because of the kind of utility and the cost inputs that are involved in it. The stakes for a society are much higher in such cases than in non profesional courses ..The investments and standards are not just made in form of books and literature but also as labs ,equipment and misc. research facilities.

Society is not just run by professionals ,but they are the legs of it.
Having said that ,I m not downplaying the relevance of arts or commerce.But do you think that any party would actually shortchange you by peddling a BA History course with a 1 lakh per yr fee ??What's the incentive ??
Humanities etc are the hallmarks of a civilized society .The problem with our curiculum is that the stuff taught is ideological and not practical .I don't think most of the times course material is revised in decades .More importantly the focus is on memorising facts and not development of intellect.The system simply does not encourage one to exercise the intellect .
probably the curicullum needs to be revised to make it more job oriented rather than an amalgamation of mindless musings

Wundergal said...

Hai kapil,
I am in u lair after a looooooooong time!!! Reservation in IITs and IIMs - well the politicians want to screw up even the fewest good institutions that we can be proud of.. all for the sake of some votes from the "reserved" classes...I have no clue where the solution lies.. Autonomy -I dont think will be granted that easily!!!

Lets pray for our country...

S

Kapil said...

well .its gets worse..! the netas are mulling having a quota system in pvt. jobs..the way it is going....a lil birdie told me,the pilot would start at next years 'India fashion Week '..49.5 % of the models would be ST/SC/OBC !!

Kapil said...

camelpost i already discussed the ISB model in my post

Ford Prefect said...

wassup Kapil ..
Wicked background ... Not very user friendly though ...
So hoowz ur gmat preps coming ??

Kapil said...

yup...im pondering to do something with the fonts !!
have to sort out the work schd...kinda weird job i have...wud go4 gmat sometime in oct....plannin 2 learn spanish 2 !! wassay

Ford Prefect said...

Spanish aye ... I know its cool with the chics , but if u wanna learn a foreign language , go for Mandarin ... Thats what well all be speaking in the future anyways ;-) .. Take Gmat a lil earlier so that U have the option to retake it in case something goes wrong and still make the Nov R1 deadline ..

Ford Prefect said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Kapil said...

yup....I had thot bout tht homezz...but Mandarin would need me to learn a whole new script...wh im not 2 sure i have the time or brainzz for...moreover I am huntin in pairs...I alreasy knw Salsa..so spking Espanol would be a strategic fit(This would give EDA nother good reason to recruit me and put me in US for 2 yrz ).....In case I strt wid Mandarin...i supz i'l have 2 learn kung fu 2:).
i think i cud give the GMAT in Aug-Sep...bttr strt preparin :)