Dear Students,
LAST WEEK WE ASKED: Do you think the MHRD should not interfere with the functioning of IITs and IIMs?
BEST RESPONSE
Accountability and autonomy should go hand in hand. MHRD should interfere till accountability is concerned, else autonomy should be given to IITs and IIMs. India needs to deeply introspect why its top colleges and universities are not in global top 10. Is it due to red-tapism and the bureaucratisation? Education institution should be given free hand with accountability to impart state of art education filled with modern technique. IITs and IIMs have world class infrastructure with top class students and faculty. They should be given freedom to draw their blueprint of success.
- Nilaya Mitash Shanker, IIT Roorkee.
OTHER RESPONSES
MHRD’S involvement in the functioning of IIT & IIM is preferred because they were established for the fulfillment of certain objectives of having more qualified professionals; however IIT & IIM are always bogged down by issues of candidate’s seats, fees structure, placements & etc. which diverts their attention they must concentrate on academics rather than these problems. If these things continue the objective of this body’s will not be fulfilled & resulting in scarcity in India. Hence MHRD can help out IIT & IIM in admin issues & have a participatory role than a supervising role.
- Vishal Rajai, St. Kabir Institute of Professional Studies, Ahmedabad.
There are no such instances where the IIT’s & IIM’s have malfunctioned or functioned below their standards. Since their inception, these two institutional societies have always strived for excellence & have given the best products. Having such a scenario, HRD Ministry’s interference will not be a welcoming. And, this may have an impact on the autonomous control of the IIM’s & IIT’s which may also affect the functioning on these institutions. In order to keep up the standards of these institutions HRD Ministry can provide a better suggestions rather than interfering in their function & governance.
- Praveenkumar Keskar, S.I.T, Tumkur.
IITs and IIMs are the premier institutes in India. So far they have delivered quality education throughout India. But bringing them under the net of Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) will curb their freedom. Because of their autonomy they have created such benchmark in Indian education. If they are brought under the purview of Ministry of HRD they may lose competency and dynamism. They will be more rule followers rather than setting their own standard. So there is no urgent need to make any intervention by the Ministry of HRD.
- Arindam Garai, Regional College Of Management Autonomous, Bhubaneswar.
The ultimate aim of everyone is towards driving the growth of the country which can be achieved if HRD ministry along with IITs and IIMs come together and help in improving the functioning of institutes from good to best. But, the HRD ministry should not be imposing any obligations on one of the several IITs or IIMs as otherwise it might dismantle their efforts. Also, the institutes must respect the guidelines laid down by ministry. Thus, the collaboration of HRD ministry with IITs and IIMs might spell success, with the hope of having world class institutes from our country.
- Shivam Chhabra, Integral University, Lucknow.
The MHRD must interfere with the functioning of IITs and IIMs. We have seen earlier that problems regarding the salary hike, expected by the faculties at these institutes were looked into by the MHRD. It was this ministry who showed the right path to these institutes saying that the funds of these institutes will be first used for the development of the new IIMs and IITs and then if left any, will be given as incentives to the faculty members. The ministry will always be there to solve such clashes if given a chance to interfere in their working.
- Kavita Oswal, Vishwakarma Institute of Management, Pune.
There is a reason why MHRD should not interfere with the functioning of IITs and IIMs All the goodwill that IIMs and IITs have been able to generate in the long years of their existence is due to the autonomy provided to them. IIMs & IITs campus facilities don't match up to campuses abroad, though they are considered to have better infrastructure than other Indian Institutes . But any hopes of ever matching the quality of international campuses might become a pipe dream if revenue sources are choked off by the government with slashing of course fees and funds.
- Sumit Sourav, Regional College of Management , Bhubaneswar.
The HRD ministry works as a watch dog and not a blood hound. Its main objective is to supervise and monitor the functioning of IITs and IIMs. The HRD minister gives the authority to these institutes but at the same time gives them accountability too for their working. If there is no governing council , then there can be a probability that these institutes can run on the dictatorship mode and the education system can go on a toss.
- Harsh Mehta, St. Kabir Institute of Professional Studies, Ahmedabad.
There should be a separate governance mechanisms from the day-to-day operations of ministries, in order to protect functional autonomy, in its fullest sense since direct involvement can result in unfortunate situations. If the recent measures of higher education sector expansion are indeed implemented, IITs and IIMs will become equivalents of government departments. They would no longer be able to call them autonomous. As of now, the government should not interfere in the admission, fees, syllabus, appointment and the overall strategy of IIMs and IITs.
- Lokesh Pravin Jain, Vishwakarma Institute Of Management, Pune.
MHRD should interfere in administrative and key decision making functions of IIMs and IITs otherwise these both institutes would go haywire in certain significant decisions like fixing upon fees, number of seats, quality of education etc. Also involvement of MHRD would ensure a sense of faith of citizens in such institution and their policy framing related to admissions, placements, curriculum etc. Looking at western university, their autonomous structure of education has taken a high toll resulting in discreet functionality of their universities. Hence MHRD would ensure reasonableness in functionalities of IIMs and IITs.
- Tushar Shah, Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University, Gandhinagar.
Ministry of HRD should look after the functioning of IITs and IIMs but should not interfere in their working. They are autonomous institutions and have freedom to tweak their courses according to industry requirements. Also as they were formed to impart high quality professional education and if there is unnecessary interference in their functioning then it means a disservice to the nation as lot of taxpayers' money goes into running them as centers of excellence. Lastly, ministry's role should be to make them more efficient and to check that the public money is used efficiently and effectively by these institutions.
- Mohit Marakna, MS University of Baroda.
Your responses should reach us at edu@business-standard.com by Monday evening every week. Please ensure that your responses do not exceed 100 words. Avoid attachments and email your full name, institute's name, batch and complete mailing address. The student who gives the 'Best Response' will be awarded Rs 500.
THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: Do you think it is a good move by AICTE to allow companies to set up engineering institutes?
