‘Deeply concerned over engineering students pursuing non-core jobs, it’s a waste of resources,’ says IIT Madras director

Delving into the reasons, Kamakoti said, two aspects stand out: pay and work environment. “The higher pay and the comfort of working from home, even while attending to household chores, make these opportunities appealing. Remote work allows me to enjoy the comforts of home, including home-cooked meals, and the flexibility to watch Netflix while completing tasks. In contrast, as a civil engineer, I would work on-site under the sun, facing physical discomfort and receiving lower compensation,” he said.

The IIT Madras Director also said that the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic are still evident on campus, with remote learning significantly reducing students’ attention span and the lack of socialisation among peers adversely affecting their mental health.

“…Look, I’m not trying to hide behind this but the pandemic has also played a role… students were unable to be on campus for two years, leading to a lack of socialisation with their peers. When they returned, they discovered that some of their peers had taken extra classes or acquired additional skills at home, which helped them secure internships. This realisation created a sense of being left behind and intensified the pressure on students. This situation could have been different if all students were present on campus and had the opportunity to stay informed about each other’s activities and achievements,” he said.

The institute has witnessed five suicides in the 12 months. According to Kamakoti, the institute conducted a mental wellness workshop and identified four causes of why students are feeling stressed — personal reasons, health, financial, and academic pressure. “To address this, we have established an independent network of counsellors who visit hostels daily and spend one hour at a predetermined time. We have also facilitated meetings between faculty and students, and conducted a mental wellness survey with the National Health Authority under the government of Tamil Nadu,” he said.

Asked if discrimination was also identified as a cause in the mental wellness survey, he acknowledged that discrimination based on ranks secured in the JEE Advanced is possible, but the institute is sensitising students against it.

“We have created a lot of awareness about rank-based discrimination. Teachers never ask students about their ranks once they are on campus. However, students may inquire about ranks, leading to scrutiny based on category. That kind of discrimination can happen and we are sensitising students against these issues,” Kamakoti said. No complaints, specifically on caste-based discrimination, have been received by him in the last 1.5 years, he said.

The director also spoke about how an OTT series on the Kota coaching factory had served as an eye-opener for him as to how stressful preparation for JEE has become over the years. “I don’t believe this level of parental pressure was there earlier. My father wanted me to study well, but he allowed me to pursue what I wanted… Many of my friends made it to IIT, but I didn’t because I didn’t prepare for the JEE… However, now there is immense pressure; students start preparing for JEE Advanced as early as Class 5. When they arrive here, they are like robots. Once they enter an IIT, they encounter even more rigour and hard work,” he said.

IIT Madras has emerged as the best higher educational institution in the ‘overall’ category of the National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF) for the fifth year in a row. But despite its consistent dominance in NIRF, beating even institutions like IISc year after year, IIT Madras continues to be absent from the world’s top 200 rankings. However, for IIT Madras Director V Kamakoti, while global rankings are important, the institute places greater emphasis on NIRF as it aligns more closely with the goals of higher education in India.

Emphasising the substantial differences in evaluation criteria between the NIRF and global rankings, he said, “The QS ranking places significant weight on the perception parameter, accounting for 40 per cent of the overall score. QS also considers diversity in terms of international student enrollment. Conversely, NIRF… takes into account an institution’s outreach and inclusivity efforts, acknowledging the social responsibility of higher education institutions in India… While we are not running away from international rankings, the NIRF parameters contribute to our overarching goals.”

Kamakoti said the institute does not let rankings dictate its work and priorities. The focus is on catering to the academic requirements of the nation and increasing the gross enrollment rate and rankings follow as a corollary to these efforts, he said.