Thursday, August 13, 2009

IITian's Dilemma

There is always an debate going on " Do we" IITians justify with the image associated with the built up studious character. Are we the same as the outside world perceives us? and most of the times, this debate nevers ends with a conclusion but more questions itself and with a newly generated random permutation of pointing fingers. I agree, we are not justifying 'the' image of 'IITians". We may exclude the 10 % people who do study and may achieve wonders and be the sole founders of 'the' image.So why is it like the rest 90 % of people spend only one tenth time of what's 'required' to study . The main question which stands is - " Does anyone care or have a genuine interest in knowing why don't we study?" Does IIT administration really wanna know the reason behind this?. I mean they take an exam called JEE which is supposed to be one of the toughest exam in the world. Why're such intelligent minds having less or literally no interest in studying after coming to IIT?

Since there's a lack of scientific study on this subject and humans, tend to reason everything by what they know, I'm sure the administration or the professors in the office think we're too much involved in extra currics , preparing for the numerous events in BRCA and BSA. I am sure if they look into facts and co relate the academic performance of a student, they won't find much relation. I guess it happens this way that when a student looses the interest, he has to do something to pass time , to amuse himself and to get a challenging spirit which he doesn't enjoy in the academic framework of IIT.

The majority of guys we meet have created a mind set that you have to study one week before minors. Prof's will always keep on advising students to learn by heart but still the rotting method works 9 out of 10 times and the grades are counted as a fair judgment everywhere. I believe when the 75 % attendance rule was implemented, the poor grades were the only indicators. I mean we're not kids, most of us are above 18. Doesn't the authorities count that it's their limitation that they have failed to attract students to attend classes or have a genuine interest in studies? ... Believe me, even if lan ports are not there in the rooms, laptops are disallowed or nesci's are closed, things won't change. A bounded system with compulsions may create a good corporate but an open system may create some marvelous engineer. Creativity hardly flourishes under compulsions. And from one compulsive system to another earning a money to withstand those compulsions is what most of us end up doing.

Clearing JEE is an indicator that the student can study, the potential is there, but no one's there to tap it and hence it flows in some other direction. Many a students are stressed about their life in IIT and I haven't seen anyone talk about the Student Counselling Service and I haven't seen the profs in general worried about the students. They seem satisified answering the queries they're subjected to and assume that those who wanna understand the stuff are doing it and the rest of them don't have a problem because they're not interested to study but why are they not interested is the question? They can try picking up random people at times and try experimenting and knowing them. We all hate, at least I do, spending our time in a course throughout the semester where the prof is not even interested in knowing our name (It has happened to all of us). Is this what we deserve? If someone is not even interested in knowing who we are, it's a bit tough to heartly dedicate towards the course.

Getting to my point, we have got a seperate humanities department and the courses are floated for around 1000 students each semester which makes it quite a big department. All I want and expect is a survey, a scientific one, to be conducted by this department or for the sake, any other responsible person for knowing the concrete reasons and if someone has already done a similar thing, please publish it somewhere along with the data. At least if we can't change anything, let's make our 'image' clear, let's not keep people in dark which includes our parents as well. I mean it'll be shocking if such a scientific data is published on the first page of a national newspaper. If anything can be changed, it should be changed else let the image be declared a 'myth' .

1 comment:

Manish Bansal said...

hats off to your emotions.. i share the feelings. no doubt that every word you wrote was full of sense. And I agree to each and every stance put forward by you. I would in fact like to take your permission my friend to import this article by you in my blog too.

However, just thinking from the other side in an attempt of being a critic, i would say that (though probably this is also a result of flaw somewhere in the system itself and the cut throat competition) we iitians have to some extent become so ambitious and CV minded, that the fear of us misusing the power stands justified. Being the students of premier institution, we expect what ever we can think of to be top class. But there is no limit to this criteria of being satisfied to topclass. Slighting of the resources and responsibilities of the administration, we forget that best institute doesn't mean perfect. Falling of a tube-light is an accident that can also happen in our home, where we are the administrators. And falling of a student from bus is a mistake in judgment and carelessness both on the part of student and driver. Err is to human.

Still, i again repeat that, if we taken the whole scenario in a mutual sense, than both the system and the users will certainly be in profit.