A day after Jairam Ramesh's controversial remarks on IITs and IIMs, the institutes have hit back.
Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, who is also a former IITan had said, "The IITs and IIMs are good because of world class students, not because of the world class faculty."
With that comment, the former IITian stirred yet another controversy, invoking sharp reactions from the IITs and IIMs across India. But the question is whether Ramesh's statements were completely out of context.
IIT Delhi's Senior Faculty member, Dr Sanjeev Sanghi while angry and disagreeing with Mr Ramesh's comments, did however acknowledge the need for improvement.
Dr Sanjeev Sanghi said, "There are constraints. We have to wait to make purchases after clearance from the government."
Meanwhile, the man actually in-charge of Education, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal too broke his silence, not openly disagreeing with his cabinet colleague, but being diplomatic and leaving scope for interpretation.
Kapil Sibal said, "Is any institute world class? These institutes have to be in the top 100-150 names of the world, but that has not happened. Why, is what we have to see."
But many from the world of IIMs and IITs saw no reason to agree with what the Environment Minister said about education, especially since they said these institutes had developed themselves into nothing short of individual brands.
Dean/Acting Director of Kolkata IIM Sougata Roy explained, "These institutes are so good not because of people like Jairam Ramesh, but because of the students, the faculty and the contribution of the alumnus."
Ironically, India's IIMs don't even figure in the top hundred B schools in the world. So, the question is that is it more important to accept the defence of these age old institutions by loyal alumnus and members of the faculty or is there some truth to Mr Ramesh's statements, raising important concerns about institutions of which India has always been so proud of?
