Something amiss in the system
Nainan P. Kurian
Much has been written in these columns about the IIT system — the brain drain, the consequent national loss and the like. I do not wish to touch upon these. My intention is to look beyond this as one qualified to do so, with 43 years of experience in the IIT system (three years at IIT Kharagpur and 40 years at IIT Madras).
The strength of the IIT system is the students, who, coming through a very stiff competitive entrance examination, have proved themselves to be the best in the country, and by a safe bet, among the best in the world.
However, if one were to ask a cross section of the IIT student community, one would find how disgruntled they are and how the system has robbed them of the initial enthusiasm with which they entered the portals of the IITs. In this situation it is little wonder that they look at the IIT as a stepping stone for laurels awaiting them abroad, particularly in the U.S.
There are great entrepreneurs among ex-IITians who have made it very big , particularly in the field of IT in the U.S. Be that as it may, my question simply is: is there one among them who can be reckoned among the world’s tallest in the core areas of ‘technology’ and ‘science’ in which they are trained? (I have put technology first because our B.Tech intake is mainly in engineering disciplines; sciences come only at the Master’s level, with students of admittedly lesser calibre). If some of them have the potential of making it to the Nobel Prize, why have they not risen to the occasion?
After all, all engineering sciences are essentially offshoots of Physics and Chemistry (Mathematics not excluded!) to varying degrees. In other words, they have not risen to dizzying heights in the disciplines in which they are trained, but reached lofty heights in ‘entrepreneurship’ in which they are not trained.
Or is it the case of one doing well, say, in zoology getting into the IAS and then being called upon to do a job in ‘management,’ which better suits MBAs who are trained for it. (Administration per se was important from
a colonial context; it has graduated into management in the present scenario of the country striving for development at the global level). IITians can do the country proud much more by becoming acknowledged world leaders in technology and science than by starting new IT companies and earning big money for themselves.
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