Yesterday I was reading an article in the online version of a leading daily in India. The article was about the launch of the eight new IITs. I noticed that almost all those who had posted their comments were very critical of the Government’s decision to launch the new IITs – a majority of them concerned with the “Dilution” of the IIT Brand, and the rest very apprehensive about the quality of these institutes. I was pretty surprised to see the level of “concern” and “awareness” showed by the readers of that section.
With all due respect to the school of thought raising the hue and cry about the so called “Brand dilution” of IITs, there is only one thing I would like to say: This is no longer an era of exclusivity. You have to make provisions for more and more people to have access to the best in class facilities, particularly so in a country like India, where the demand for quality higher education has evolved itself into a cut throat competition. The market for higher education can’t be treated as a niche market where only premium limited edition goods can be supplied. Especially, when it comes to the Government, it is its responsibility to ensure an inclusive growth – which ranges from establishing primary schools and good colleges, to ensuring that the benefit of the well established brand “IIT” reaches the maximum possible width of the deserving population. I know that this stand that I am taking is very much against what typical IITians or other educated elite in the country take. But there is a reason behind this.
To begin with, let’s have a look at the selection procedure of IITs, i.e., the IIT JEE. Every year more than 2 lakh people appear for IIT JEE, but only a select 5000 or so get admission to these prestigious institutes . Is it that the other 1,95,000 people do not have the “optimum” quality level ? Or is it something else? Well, if 5000 people make it to the IITs, there is the next 10-15000 at least who have the similar level of intellect, and have missed the so called “Merit List (I should say the name itself sounds very derogatory to the people who do not get selected)”, by maybe a mark or two in the examination. For all the ignorant souls, I would like to clarify that the difference between say a rank 3000 and rank 4000 in IIT JEE is somewhere around 4-5 marks (an unofficial, but a very standard figure). If those 10-15000 odd people would have figured out how to answer one more question in the paper, they would have made to the “elite league” of Indian brain. But alas, they couldn’t do so and so are deemed to be unfit for an IIT.
So, what is the solution for this? I know many of you would say that this is a universal phenomenon with no solution. But isn’t it akin to saying that global warming is a universal phenomenon with no solution? Isn’t it akin to saying that poverty, illiteracy and corruption are universal phenomenon and hence no solution for them is possible? Actually, this is a classic example of supply-demand mismatch. A seat in an IIT is something very good which is available at a minimal economic cost, and hence the heavy demand. This is simple economics and nothing else. So, shouldn’t steps be taken to increase the supply so as to bridge the gap as far as possible? Any rational person who is able to take a non-prejudiced stand knows the answer to this question.
Then why there is so much of a hue and cry about the issue? First and foremost, it is a natural human tendency to oppose any inclusion. Particularly in India, I don’t know why people are so against inclusion when there is such a heavy need for it. It was a big irony that when a ground breaking innovation like Tata Nano was launched, some people made lots of noises that it will lead to a clutter on the Indian roads, which are already struggling with the heavy traffic. And believe me, those who say this are none but the “elite” of the society who already have separate cars for their spouses and sons and daughters. I remember reading a debate in a newspaper, where the person opposing the concept of Tata Nano went to the extent of calling it a “danger to the well being and prosperity of the nation”. So, which one is a better solution - Not to launch cars like Nano, which will revolutionize the automobile industry, or encourage more such innovations towards inclusion and at the same time take steps to improve the traffic conditions on roads ? Exactly on the same lines, which one is a better solution - To maintain the exclusivity of the IITs and prevent a large pool of talented young people of the country from getting the IIT brand, or to increase the seats and launching new IITs and at the same time taking steps to maintain and increase the quality of these institutions? A sheer prejudiced approach that “quantity is inversely proportional to quality” is totally invalid and passé now. Anyone who is familiar with the Dabbawalas of Mumbai will probably agree with me – They deliver lunch packets to lakhs in Mumbai, but still enjoy a six sigma rating. You can do the mathematics.
Another concern is that the quality of education and infrastructure at the newly launched IITs is very inferior, compared with the other IITs. Indeed, this is a very valid point. But, if we wait for the day when a new lavish IIT complex with a sprawling campus and world class laboratories and classrooms is ready, to start the classes, it will be something like spending ones whole life preparing to live a life. The Government’s decision to start off the new IITs from temporary campuses is commendable indeed. For those who do not know, most of the present days IITs were started off from makeshift arrangements, and there is no need to mention the heights they have achieved today. The biggest reflection of the institute’s quality is the performance of the students of an institute – much more than the laboratories, the academics, the hostels, sports facilities or any other thing.
Therefore, what I would like to say is that one should not bluntly conclude that launching the new IITs is all that wrong, and the Government is thinking about nothing but its vote bank by launching the new IITs. One should adopt a cost-benefit analysis based approach, and only then come to any conclusion about the issue, or as a matter of fact for any issue.I am sure if the readers can think on these lines, they will not find the decision to launch the new IITs all that wrong.
