A national waste
It is a matter of great concern that more than 300 seats are going unclaimed in the nation’s best institutes — the Indian Institutes of Technology. A majority of those seats are not from any of the new IITs, which may be viewed by students as not carrying the same prospects for gainful employment by corporates.
Most seats are vacant at the Madras and Delhi branches of the gateway to technical knowledge that is recognised around the world as the host of study courses of excellence.
The HRD ministry is already aware of the problem and a rethink is being done about the changes effected to the exam system for admission to the current academic year. The dons must introspect not only on whether school marks should be made to count for so much as to sideline even those who have done well enough to get through the IIT entrance exam. Also, whether it is time the technology institute also raises its horizons and opts to include courses in the pure sciences that seem to take the fancy of students more these days.
The drooping trend has been witnessed over the last few years, which means that the time to set things right is now. The way forward may also lie in not complicating the issue of admissions to the premier institutes and looking at the larger picture of modern-day India offering far more than just technical jobs in the estimated $100 billion IT sector. To invest so much in the IITs and not see the seats taken is a national waste.
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