http://in.rediff.com/money/2005/mar/23iit.htm
Making on new IITs, will it dilute the brand of IIT, wont it be better to setup more NITs or create a new brand (Technical Institute of India? National University, India? ...) out of these colleges. I havent even heard of atleast 3 out of this list. Lets wait to hear comments from non-iitians on this.
Abhishek
The Indian Institutes of Technology are in the news again. Earlier this month, newspaper reports revealed the names of seven short-listed colleges to be converted into IITs, as per the S K Joshi Committee report.
The shortlisted institutions are the Institute of Technology BHU Varanasi; University College of Engineering combined with University College of Technology, both belonging to the Osmania University; Bengal Engineering College Howrah; Jadavpur University's engineering and technology departments; Zakir Hussain College of Engineering and Technology, AMU Aligarh; Andhra University College of Engineering; and Cochin University of Science and Technology.
However, the government is considering the report of the Joshi Committee to constitute an expert group to assess the suitability of transforming seven institutions to the level of IITs, as these institutions 'fall far below the level of the existing IITs in all criteria used for shortlisting.'
But suddenly everyone is asking questions:
*
When will the new IITs materialise?
* Which colleges will be the lucky ones?
*
On what criteria has the IIT Committee selected these colleges?
Colleges/institutes short-listed for IITs
A total of seven colleges/institutes from four states were short-listed for conversion into IITs. Some of the states have suggested two colleges in the hope that at least one would be selected. The colleges affiliated to the Aligarh Muslim University and the Banaras Hindu University have applied on their own, as they are central universities.
Let us view their merits state-wise:
Uttar Pradesh: Both the colleges -- Banaras Hindu University's Institute of Technology (ITBHU) and the Zakir Hussain College of Engineering, Aligarh (of AMU) -- are part of central government universities.
ITBHU admits students through all India IIT-JEE examination since 1972 and it is the only college among the chosen seven to grant admission of students on an all-India basis.
Encouraged by the IIT Board (an apex governing committee of all IITs), it applied for IIT status in 1973 with East German collaboration. However, the deal fell through due to political reasons.
West Bengal: The state government has put forward two of its finest engineering colleges, namely the Jadavpur University's Engineering and Technical Department, and the Bengal Engineering College, Howrah.
BEC and ITBHU provided most of the faculty members to IITs during their formative years. The state will likely get other institutes, if it fails to get an IIT.
Andhra Pradesh: The state has put forward Osmania College of Engineering (Osmania University College of Technology), Hyderabad, and the Andhra University College of Engineering, Visakhapatanam.
The state is aggressively pushing for an IIT and it has even threatened to establish an IIT of its own if one is not granted. The central government has set up a committee to study the creation of a separate state of Telangana (after splitting Andhra Pradesh), with Visakhapatanam as the new capital.
If the move materialises, Andhra University College of Engineering could be converted into an NIT.
Kerala: It has only one college -- the Cochin University of Science and Technology -- in the race for conversion into an IIT.
This fine institute, which used to offer only post-graduate courses, now also offers graduate courses in a wide range of engineering, sciences, law and management. All 20 Members of Parliament from the state are unanimous over their demand for an IIT.
Brand new IITs or Converted IITs?
Prior to coming up of IIT-Roorkee, all the six IITs were established as brand new IITs, i.e. from scratch.
IIT-Guwahati was established in 1992 with an estimated outlay of about Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion). But on completion, the total cost came to be about Rs 1,500 crore (Rs 15 billion).
Alarmed by this cost escalation, the government decided to set up future IITs only by converting existing colleges. It will cost upwards of Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion) today to set up a brand new IIT. A college converted into an IIT will receive a one-time grant (paid over a period of three years) of Rs 300 crore (Rs 3 billion). It will also receive an annual funding of about Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion).
Fear over dilution of IIT quality
There is an apprehension that with the creation of more IITs, the quality of IITs may be diluted. I believe that this fear is unfounded, since even if there are 12 IITs, it will represent only 1 per cent of the approximately 1,200 degree engineering colleges in India which produce about 250,000 engineers each year.
The one-time massive grant received by each converted IIT will help in upgrading college infrastructure -- such as buildings, labs, workshops, etc. Moreover, substantial increase in annual funding will result in attracting talented faculty, more research scientists and definitely better students for postgraduate and PhD programmes.
The converted institute shall have to comply with strict educational norms laid down by the IIT Board (Council), such as 1:1 ratio of admitted undergraduate/postgraduate students; faculty/student ratio of 1:8 or better; constantly updating of the curriculum; hiring of faculty with only doctorate qualification and a distinguished career; participation in TEQIP (Technical Education and Quality Improvement Programme) by all faculty members, etc.
However, when a college that does not have any affiliation with the IIT-JEE becomes an IIT, it may suffer initially in terms of student quality, as several batches will pass out with the IIT tag without having to go through the tough IIT-JEE exam. It is also true that a new converted college will take a few years to come at par with the IITs' high academic standards and to assimilate into the IIT culture. But this is small price we will have to pay for long-term benefits to our country.
The author is chemical engineering graduate from ITBHU and an MS (chemical engineering) from Rutgers University, New Jersey. He has deeply interacted with the HRD ministry, state ministers, IIT board, IIT Selection Committee. The views expressed here are personal.
Making on new IITs, will it dilute the brand of IIT, wont it be better to setup more NITs or create a new brand (Technical Institute of India? National University, India? ...) out of these colleges. I havent even heard of atleast 3 out of this list. Lets wait to hear comments from non-iitians on this.
Abhishek
The Indian Institutes of Technology are in the news again. Earlier this month, newspaper reports revealed the names of seven short-listed colleges to be converted into IITs, as per the S K Joshi Committee report.
The shortlisted institutions are the Institute of Technology BHU Varanasi; University College of Engineering combined with University College of Technology, both belonging to the Osmania University; Bengal Engineering College Howrah; Jadavpur University's engineering and technology departments; Zakir Hussain College of Engineering and Technology, AMU Aligarh; Andhra University College of Engineering; and Cochin University of Science and Technology.
However, the government is considering the report of the Joshi Committee to constitute an expert group to assess the suitability of transforming seven institutions to the level of IITs, as these institutions 'fall far below the level of the existing IITs in all criteria used for shortlisting.'
But suddenly everyone is asking questions:
*
When will the new IITs materialise?
* Which colleges will be the lucky ones?
*
On what criteria has the IIT Committee selected these colleges?
Colleges/institutes short-listed for IITs
A total of seven colleges/institutes from four states were short-listed for conversion into IITs. Some of the states have suggested two colleges in the hope that at least one would be selected. The colleges affiliated to the Aligarh Muslim University and the Banaras Hindu University have applied on their own, as they are central universities.
Let us view their merits state-wise:
Uttar Pradesh: Both the colleges -- Banaras Hindu University's Institute of Technology (ITBHU) and the Zakir Hussain College of Engineering, Aligarh (of AMU) -- are part of central government universities.
ITBHU admits students through all India IIT-JEE examination since 1972 and it is the only college among the chosen seven to grant admission of students on an all-India basis.
Encouraged by the IIT Board (an apex governing committee of all IITs), it applied for IIT status in 1973 with East German collaboration. However, the deal fell through due to political reasons.
West Bengal: The state government has put forward two of its finest engineering colleges, namely the Jadavpur University's Engineering and Technical Department, and the Bengal Engineering College, Howrah.
BEC and ITBHU provided most of the faculty members to IITs during their formative years. The state will likely get other institutes, if it fails to get an IIT.
Andhra Pradesh: The state has put forward Osmania College of Engineering (Osmania University College of Technology), Hyderabad, and the Andhra University College of Engineering, Visakhapatanam.
The state is aggressively pushing for an IIT and it has even threatened to establish an IIT of its own if one is not granted. The central government has set up a committee to study the creation of a separate state of Telangana (after splitting Andhra Pradesh), with Visakhapatanam as the new capital.
If the move materialises, Andhra University College of Engineering could be converted into an NIT.
Kerala: It has only one college -- the Cochin University of Science and Technology -- in the race for conversion into an IIT.
This fine institute, which used to offer only post-graduate courses, now also offers graduate courses in a wide range of engineering, sciences, law and management. All 20 Members of Parliament from the state are unanimous over their demand for an IIT.
Brand new IITs or Converted IITs?
Prior to coming up of IIT-Roorkee, all the six IITs were established as brand new IITs, i.e. from scratch.
IIT-Guwahati was established in 1992 with an estimated outlay of about Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion). But on completion, the total cost came to be about Rs 1,500 crore (Rs 15 billion).
Alarmed by this cost escalation, the government decided to set up future IITs only by converting existing colleges. It will cost upwards of Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion) today to set up a brand new IIT. A college converted into an IIT will receive a one-time grant (paid over a period of three years) of Rs 300 crore (Rs 3 billion). It will also receive an annual funding of about Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion).
Fear over dilution of IIT quality
There is an apprehension that with the creation of more IITs, the quality of IITs may be diluted. I believe that this fear is unfounded, since even if there are 12 IITs, it will represent only 1 per cent of the approximately 1,200 degree engineering colleges in India which produce about 250,000 engineers each year.
The one-time massive grant received by each converted IIT will help in upgrading college infrastructure -- such as buildings, labs, workshops, etc. Moreover, substantial increase in annual funding will result in attracting talented faculty, more research scientists and definitely better students for postgraduate and PhD programmes.
The converted institute shall have to comply with strict educational norms laid down by the IIT Board (Council), such as 1:1 ratio of admitted undergraduate/postgraduate students; faculty/student ratio of 1:8 or better; constantly updating of the curriculum; hiring of faculty with only doctorate qualification and a distinguished career; participation in TEQIP (Technical Education and Quality Improvement Programme) by all faculty members, etc.
However, when a college that does not have any affiliation with the IIT-JEE becomes an IIT, it may suffer initially in terms of student quality, as several batches will pass out with the IIT tag without having to go through the tough IIT-JEE exam. It is also true that a new converted college will take a few years to come at par with the IITs' high academic standards and to assimilate into the IIT culture. But this is small price we will have to pay for long-term benefits to our country.
The author is chemical engineering graduate from ITBHU and an MS (chemical engineering) from Rutgers University, New Jersey. He has deeply interacted with the HRD ministry, state ministers, IIT board, IIT Selection Committee. The views expressed here are personal.