Let go the IITs!

The malaise of persistent government interference in India’s elite IITs has been brilliantly highlighted in your cover story (EW July). The recent attempt of Union HRD minister Kapil Sibal to abolish the time-tested and rigorous IIT-JEE in favour of a common entrance test was a bad idea as it would have dumbed down academic standards in these excellent institutions. Luckily for the nation, Sibal’s populist proposal was bravely resisted by the IIT faculty and he had to back down. You have done well to put this recent incident in a historical context by pointing out how many times in the past Union HRD ministers have tried to undermine the autonomy of IITs. Murli Manohar Joshi tried his best to pack the boards of IITs with his acolytes and Arjun Singh successfully imposed a 22.5 percent OBC quota in these premier institutions. This history suggests the IITs are extremely vulnerable to interference from the Union HRD ministry and the Central government which funds them. It’s time the government lets go of the IITs and invested complete administrative, academic and financial autonomy in their managements. The IIT faculty, which fiercely protested and led the battle against the proposed common entrance test, should not rest on their laurels and ensure this happens.  Rajesh Murthy Chennai Unprepared ground Congratulations to summiya Yasmeen and Vimal Joshi for writing a balanced and comprehensive special report on ICT in education (EW July). It would have been easy to be influenced by the marketing blitzkrieg of ICT education companies which makes us believe that computers, interactive boards and digital content are widely used in India’s schools, colleges and universities. As the authors write, this is far from the truth. ICT in Indian education is yet a distant dream. It was shocking to read that computers bought with taxpayers’ money are locked up unused in government schools. It’s plainly obvious that politicians and bureaucrats want to enrich the mushrooming education technology companies rather than offer students the benefits of ICT education. What will government schools without electricity and adequately trained teachers do with computers? Such a waste of scarce resources! The ICT scene in private schools is also not jumping. Teacher inertia and unwillingness to embrace new technologies results in under-utilisation of ICT equipment in private schools as well. The moral of the story is that the ground must be fully prepared — in terms of teacher training and curriculum revision — before introducing new digital technologies in classrooms. Shobha Joshi Mumbai CET beneficial Re your cover story ‘Another close shave for Brand IIT’ (EW July), I fail to see how the IITs will be adversely affected if it’s ensured that high quality is maintained and controlled in the proposed common entrance test for all engineering colleges. If there are flaws in the proposed test, the IITs can accordingly iron them out to maintain their high quality of education. From a broader perspective, a common entrance exam for all engineering students is beneficial to the country. Mahesh Kumar Delhi Post-admission problems There’s…