Comments on: IIT Foundation: Foundation for What?

By: ajay mishra

ajay mishra — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 23:27:59 +0000

my request ->

If you a parent -> trust me :
we have 5 brothers who went to IITS { 2 of my mom and dad + 3 cousin brothers}

parents have NO idea – whats involved – they dont know that they dont know.. and this is more dangerous than those who know they dont know and hence dont impose, their preconceived thoughts.

so, dear parents -> PLEASE listen -> do not over burden your kids – this will become a zombie nation is the kids are told that early in their age -what not to do ..

God please..
ajay mishra

By: ajay mishra

ajay mishra — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 23:21:53 +0000

I am an IIT Kanpur Btech, ENTERED IN 1987. There has a lot that has changed since then. Here is what i see:

[1] Too much voodoo stuff -> coaching classes, myths, rumors.. and what not. Too much rote -> when in doubt compare and contrast the exam papers – circa – 1978-1993 : Try and see -the difference -> the questions are easier and based on ROTE -> do – over think.

[2] People talk lot about IIT these days. In USA also. Even my girl friend does – and she isnt even Indian. IIT talk is not new, its just that the amplitude and the frequency – makes you wanna do the do.

Some things havent changed though: and here is what i feel after graduating almost 2 decades ago:

[a]My fellow Indian brethren havent realized: this is not new. In every nation, elite schools are a big deal and will be a big deal. And, no, a degree from – even – an Ivy League -with BA History written on it – doesn’t cut it, somehow. Yeah, it would be nice if there were some better schools that taught economics, and medicine – better..

[b] Some people keep on bitching about IIT and IITans = :-) Guys.. and girls, men and women -> can you please loosen it up? I have not met many people that are that arrogant – as the IITans are sometimes described. In fact i find them quite pleasing.

ps: the reason I am bitching about the pre – pre foundation stuff – is -> It is against IIt religion. IIT means a strong culture -> it used to mean – THINK – over DO. Funda over Rote.. and hence this is sad, as it rubs against the grain.

PS2: i usually dont respond to any threads that have IIT in it – mostly because i have to be very careful of what to say, and how to say -> sorry but this- burden of carrying that elite tag – is something a bit too heavy – that i have to wear, when the plane lands east.. its never a problem in USA, CANADA and in Europe – but somehow – here – i have to be mindful.. of what i say -> and this – my fellow Indians – is wrong -> this is akin to a white man’s burden.. please don’t make the debate – undebatable..

cheers
ajay
btech iit kanpur
mba – insead

ps -:> i had to do an mba – yes.. :) and
psn-1 -> India doesnt need engineering degrees – half of that is useless..

p2 n -> in the entire planet earth – Undergraduate is not about the branch – > yes, you can check, the elite institutions there – as well, I speak from experience of mine – as well, as that of my friends -> yeah this means – teaching there.. and lecturing and also hiring there

By: sunil

sunil — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 02:49:28 +0000

I live in Aurangabad city situated in the State of Maharashtra(India).
There is a big wave in the city regarding the IIT foundation at 8th,9th and 10th class level.Paraent of each student wants who is better in school exams. wants to push the student in the stream of IIT foundation.One of those parents is me also!

By: Anirudh Vyas

Anirudh Vyas — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 04:17:40 +0000

Talk, talk, talk.

While its all true that “interests” are being compromised for the sake of “falling in a line” (in the terms of article), it seems naive to assume that “other” directions of a career would bear results better than what it is right now. Trust me, i am all pro-choice and frankly i’d want my kids (when and If i have some) to grow up to be what they want to be rather than pushed, but sometimes you’ve gotta wonder; Been living in states for some time now, I have seen what happens to kids who “follow” their dreams (and believe me, most of them are those free bird believers), guess what? they end up in a restaurant doing dishes. (Well may be i am exaggerating) but hey!.

I’d rather sit in a boring job (Its fortunate that i have been passionate about programming and software in general since my wee years) which is like 8-5 which pays me well and hear all bragging about “hey i know this language or framework” from my fellow workers rather than looking @ Mirror every evening tired and sick of not doing proper groceries (meaning groceries @ an Organic Store or something and not @ Walmart) cuz i am short of money.

Regards
Vyas, Anirudh
Camp Hill, PA(U.S)

By: Nikhil Mohan

Nikhil Mohan — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 10:48:14 +0000

Living in Hyderabad for over 10 years, I have figured out that there are three kinds description that a person can have. An IITian, an MBBS or working in US. Anything other than these is like a Sin. This is probably one of the reasons of the demand for IITs. Now there a new thing added to the status quo: ISB. But the people at ISB are smart. They charge Rs 2500/- for every application and every student is charged around Rs 20,00,000/- for the course. The demand for ISB is evident from the number of applications they get every year.

This brings us to a larger picture. When there is so much of hype and demand created about the IITs why isn’t the government making use of this opportunity and still wasting its money in providing subsidized education. I believe that right from the application fee, tuition fee to the final convocation fee should be charged as per the demand. That way the government can make use of these funds in making many other IITs. And a high tuition fee would not be a concern for any section of the society considering the fact that banks would hap[ily give them loans. People should consider this education as an investment for better returns. And believe me, the payback period won’t be more than 5 years.

By: Jayakumar

Jayakumar — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 22:01:49 +0000

This discussion is very interesting. I am a graduate from IT-BHU (Institute of Technology – Benares Hinsu University). In case you do not know the selection for my institute is through the IIT-JEE. I passed the exam in 1984. My rank was 1782 which was a bottom rank at that time as the JEE selected only 2000 candidates those days. I got admission in IT-BHU and had a choice between Metallurgy, Ceramics and Mining Engineering. I was not interested in any of these branches and knew precious little about them. So I chose Metallurgy as that had the highest social standing. I spent 4 terrible years in the institute. It resulted in a lot of trauma and has wrecked my life. Today I am working in a BPO as a senior software engineer. Without taking anything away from the quality of the IIT’s I would like to say one thing for all youngsters and their parents. IIT’s are great. You find a lot of very high quality brains there. But do not run behind the glamour. You can be successful in life only if you find you true vocation. Find what you are good at and what interests you. I read here that people start coaching their children for IIT’s at age 11 !!! I did not know things had become that bad. Yes, if you are interested in Engineering and like it then work for it and go for the IITs. But for heaven’s sake do not run behind it because of the hype or glamour.
What finally matters is what you have to do for a living in the end. So be very sure you are making the right choice at the right times. That is all I have to say.

By: Criteria for IIMs « Epistles

Criteria for IIMs « Epistles — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 22:58:10 +0000

[...] Of course, I don’t want the IIT/IIM system to end up like this. Not everything should be laid out to such level of detail that you can game the system. But I am glad we are seeing what we are. [...]

By: Loknath

Loknath — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 17:54:05 +0000

Wow great to read these wonderful comments. Personally to me IIT is 99% awe inspiring and 1% contribution to GDP. Had this been a similar situation in USA, IIT\’s would have expanded their facilities and scaled up to maintain a 50% intake and ensured they post huge revuenues equivalent ot the entire GDP of India through tuition fees alone. Sadly for this [edited by admin] country called India, its not a matter of concern. To some who teaach and manage these insitutues its a matter of identity crisis, were they to retain more people, to the students its a matter of 50% reduction in number of offers they have on hand by the 3rd year, to the government,, its as usual, it doesn\’t make a difference to them. Even now getting into Harvard and Yale is no big deal provided one can afford tuition. As most pointed out correctly, most indians who are now talking of 6 figures packages are largely from the middle class families whose pops owned no more than a Bajaj scooter in their entire lives with their last drawn salary being one months phone bills of their well to do kids. But largely the cultural motivations in India are to blame. Ham kuch nahi kar paye, isliye bachho se karwayenge. With rare exceptions, most parents think this way. Infact of every 100 guys who are in IITs, 99 must be having a similar parentage. In Andhra, its a phenomenon. They live and die for a engg and medical degree. Institues like Narayana exist for commercial reasons and i think they are entirely right in making money by whatever way they can. Americans leave nothing to make money. They start from application fee itself. Only time can change things.

By: Rangnath

Rangnath — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 21:11:45 +0000

I’m Rangnath from IIT Roorkee (B. Tech. IV yr electrical engg.). What I feel is that problem is not whether there should or should not be these foundation courses. Qualifying IIT entrance exam is relatively tough compared to other engineering entrance exams. So a deep preparation is required for that. Even I had joined a foundation course. But every aspect has its pros and cons.

Though a notable amount of money is being invested in education for children, one can not deny the fact of mostly IITians bagging large amount of salaries. B. Tech. graduates from other colleges also get respectable salaries these days. Thats the reason why parents/students are opting for engg./medical as a career. The other thing is also the unavailability of opportunities in other streams like commerce, arts etc. in India. BUT main question is where are we heading? Producing more and more no. of engineers and doctors has now just remained our numerical concern of education. What about the QUALITY of education? Current scenario of technical education in our country is concerned only with salaries or just good job profiles.

Inspite of being endowed with good infrastructure, IITs do not stand anywhere before world class institutes like MIT and others due to very poor research & development(R&D) . Although our IT industry is booming, but we should know that not even a single microprocessor chip is manufactured in India, only manufactured material is being assembled here. No doubt, IITs are accomplishing its onus of creating good engineers but lacking in research, innovation and creativity. I think IIT foundation course is not the issue here for what the topic has been posted. Mostly IITians have been through these courses. So I divereted the topic. Now the question is how to improve the quality of education in our country. Not only the technical education but also other areas (arts, commerce etc) need to be revamped. But when will the initiatives be taken?

By: General

General — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 15:56:23 +0000

IIT = 10% brilliant students + 90% averages students who gain “entrance” through some hidden hand of god selection committee, shhhh don’t tell anyone……..

IITans don’t have two horns and tail, if you want to test this hypothesis select 5 IITans and 5 average students from any Engineering college in India tell the IITans they should never mention they are from IIT to any of their colleagues in the company. Appoint them in same corporate level see how they do their jobs there will not be any difference.

The IIT hype/myth is the last vestige of the caste system, “superiority complex” of “inferior people” who sat on plagiarized sanskrit books for 1500 years without absolutely NO further research or improvement in the knowledge / technology!

If we want to improve Engineering Education in India then we should set the minimum criteria for becoming a lecturer in Engineering colleges as degree in Engineering + 5 years industrial work experience, then the lecturers will be able to impart real engineering knowledge to the students from their work experience. Since 5 years of industrial work experience will give the teachers industry contacts they will be in better position to collaborate with industry to do research and solve real industrial problems and hence contribute to advancement of technology.