There are world class students, there must be world class faculty
New Delhi : Human resource development minister Kapil Sibal made a U-turn
on Thursday, praising the faculty of the IITs and IIMs as "world class".
He had earlier agreed with his cabinet colleague Jairam Ramesh, who had said on
Monday that students - not faculty or quality of research - at these premier institutes
were world class.
Sibal had initially said, "He (Ramesh) is himself an IITian. He might be having inside
knowledge. Even otherwise, do we have world-class institutions? As education minister,
I am striving towards achieving world-class standards for our institutions."
But on Thursday, Sibal changed his tune, saying, "I want to place on record the
government's complete trust in the faculties of the IIT and the IIM. Almost 25%
of the entire IIT faculty comprises ex-students. Surely, if there are world-class
students, there must be world-class faculty."
Without naming Ramesh, Sibal said any minister was entitled to his opinion, but
the government wanted to place the facts before the nation. He said it was true
that the IITs had not "gained the critical mass to change the global scientific
discourse", but the faculties could not be blamed for this.
Courtesy: Hindustan Times
