India needs more IITs: Prof. Pathak

Deepak B Pathak, head, KReSIT, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mumbai, recalls an incident that happened a few years back. He was visiting a small tribal hamlet, about 60 km away from Mumbai, named Wada.

Pathak was touring the tribal belt spreading IT awareness through a series of lectures. After a lecture, some twenty students flocked around requesting for autographs. Of them, one tribal boy caught his eye; he had traveled 12 km to hear the lecture. On further interaction, the boy confessed that he walks 7 kms to school everyday and back; he also topped in his class and had ambitions of doing something big in life. “There is so much talent in India, in these small places, it is really unimaginable,” he gushes.

Pathak has done his M.Tech and Ph.D from IIT, Mumbai, and is renowned for his unconventional views, and his courage to call a spade, a spade. An IIT official site describes his hobby in the following words, “giving unsolicited advice to unsuspecting individuals and groups.”

He was a wee bit apprehensive talking about the latest move of increasing reservation quotas in IITs, “these are my personal views and should not reflect as one from IIT, Mumbai,” he explains. Nevertheless, Pathak shares his views on the issue of reservations with Shashwat Chaturvedi of CyberMedia News. Excerpts.

Shouldn't merit be the sole criterion when selecting students for premier institutes like IITs?





First and foremost, we need to define what exactly we mean by merit. Does merit mean the marks attained by pupils in their annual exams? Is that the sole measure for merit? Every year, close to 3-4 lakh students appear for the JEE (joint entrance exam), of them 1.5 lakh students are truly deserving and well prepared. Sadly, only 4,000 are selected for the different IIT programs, does that mean the rest are not meritorious. A village boy in a far-flung tribal area cannot have the same privileges like the one in an urban center, like tuitions, guidance, etc. Will it not be unfair to judge at the same standards as the rest? Academic performance of an individual is dependant on lot many factors, as they say nature and nurture. I have extensively toured rural India, and there is just so much talent that is available. Lets us not judge them by the same scale as the rest.

Isn't it a fact, that close to 50 per cent seats in the 22.5 reservation quota already existing lie vacant, as there are takers for these seats?





That will not be factually correct. I cannot say for sure, as there is no study done but I can assure you it is surely not 50 per cent as some claim.

There is also the belief that most of the students who come from the reserved category are unable to cope with the high quality of education and subsequently dropout?





It is another of those fallacies spread around. Did you know that at IIT, all the students from the reserved category are counseled and the ones who are lacking undergo a one-year preparatory course, all the costs are borne by the IIT. At the end of the course, the student is admitted for the regular program, and then no discrimination is done between a student from the reserved category and one from the open category. Believe me a majority of students do reasonably well. Every being can become excellent. On the issue of dropouts, general category students also dropout midway as they are unable to cope up with the pressures.

Isn't reservation a retrograde way of promoting social equality?





I would not say that. Look at the genesis of reservations, when Babasaheb Ambedkar proposed reservation in the constituent assembly, there was a specific need for it. A whole mass of people suffering from generation of separation needed some special privileges so that they could be assimilated in the mainstream. The idea was not to discriminate but help the assimilation process. It was envisaged in the long run, the reserved community would be able to compete in an open market.

But doesn't a caste-based system promote inequality?





The idea was to eradicate a caste-based inequality that existed for centuries. The ends are good, the means could be questioned. According to me, reservation should serve the needs of the unequal. Economic parameters rather than basis of birth should be the chief criterion. The moot problem is not reservations; it is simply that there are a lot fewer institutes, than the number of students. The demand is far outstripping the supply. The problem with reservation is that it leads to rationing and thereby creates ill will, leading to a division of the society. It should be avoided at all costs. Pursuit of excellence should be the only quest.

© CyberMedia News

Will this move not affect the morale of the student appearing in the general category?





Isn't it already? Tell me something, every year so many lakhs of student appear for the entrance exam. Of them close to 1.5 lakh are truly deserving and there is just a marginal difference between them and the four thousand that are selected. Aren't the rest that are not selected already dejected and despondent? If this quota increase is done, there will be a marginal increase in the percentage of people who are disappointed. That brings us back to the moot point of demand and supply. There are five IITs in India, whereas the country needs 50. In the U.S., where there is lot of talk of affirmative action, it is relatively easier, as they have much more seats than the students. It is just a question of matching the demand, then no one will be dejected.

There is also the view that the government should invest heavily in the primary and secondary, rather than higher education like IITs?





How will that really help? Let's assume that is done, and the primary and secondary education system is strengthened. The result will be simple, instead of 1.5 lakh good individuals in the entrance exam; I will have 3-4 lakh good ones. The solution is all round investment at all levels. The future belongs to the knowledge worker; hence one should be looking at all the levels rather than a few.

IITs hold lot of respect abroad; will not this move adversely affect the brand image?





IITs are renowned for their infrastructure, their top class faculty, and the high level of training. The industry respects the IIT label and one can judge the success of IIT, by evaluating how well the students have done once they have graduated from the institute. Hence, how will such a move affect the image? An IIT graduate is respected for his knowledge and nothing else.

What could be the solution to this imbroglio?





There cannot be a quick solution to this problem. We need more quality institutes, even those that exist need to ensure high quality education. Take the case of Birla Institute of Technology (Pilani), it is respected well in the job market. Similarly, a lot more institutes need to focus more on the education they provide. The decision makers should not be shortsighted and look at future. One should look at increasing the size of the cake rather than cutting it in smaller pieces.