‘Eight IITs at one go will affect Brand IIT’

Talking to Newsline, Professor Mishra said IITs have always been an elite brand. Increasing the number of these institutes might provide education, it will dilute its brand value.

“The government should have not rushed while taking such a decision. There are a lot of factors to be kept in mind if it wants to open an institute on the lines of the IIT. Faculty is one of the main factors responsible for the name that the IITs have become. The established institutes are already facing a crunch of good teachers. I wonder where the government will find so many teachers at one go,” said Professor Mishra.

He said the colleges should be opened in a phased manner rather than doing it just for the sake of it. “It is not about quantity but quality,” said mishra.

IITs have also had ‘snob value’ attached to them. What makes them stand apart from other institutes? “We have the best teachers who follow research-oriented teaching methodology. A lot of emphasis is thus laid on research and this is a reason why a large number of our students present papers at international conferences. The alumni too, have added glory to the institutes,” said Professor Mishra. “We do not produce cretins or geeks, we produce a complete individual,” he added.

Professor Mishra also strongly condemned the practice of taking tuitions. “IITs need the best student, not the one who made him the best. Tuitions have taken away the joys of childhood from children. It is fine to aim for IIT but one should not let the aim rule one’s creativity,” he said.

He also clarified the notion that the entrance exam is made difficult deliberately so that it becomes the toughest nut to crack. “We focus on assessing the analytical power of a student and the paper is made on the same lines. Since we have to take the cream, almost 5,000 students of the over 40 lakh who appear every year, there has to be some standards,” maintained Mishra.

He, however, lamented that IITs are still away from becoming a world-class institution like the Cambridge and Oxford. “We should focus on bringing dedicated teachers and also increase the amount of research. Inviting students from other countries will only add to the pool of national talent that we have,” suggested Mishra.