As We Leave #28: Dil mein fikr zaruri hai, warna dil murda ho jaata hai..

We have been imitating the West in many ways. So, why do we not take their career structure? No fully-fledged organised on-campus recruitments. You should be capable enough of landing a job yourself. In today’s date, getting rid of the placements might be a bit far-fetched. But at least we can try removing the dedicated internship drive, which is, at best, spoon-feeding. The first year goes into understanding the campus, the second year goes into worrying about “projects” for internships, and the third year onwards, placements start to hit. Students lose their confidence when they cannot get an internship in a dedicated drive, while others do. They do not realise that only 1/3rd were supposed to get one. So, are the IITs incapable of training their students into independent job seekers? That would be quite sad because, due to the advent of IITs, most central and state universities have fallen deep into negligence today while once they were the nation’s charm. If the University of Allahabad were once called “Oxford of the East”, it would have been for a reason.

This leads me to the current status of academics at IITK. In a few words, it can be better and tougher. I’d prefer to have quality over quantity. I’ll state this beforehand: I am all in to have proper regulations to counter professors’ and admin’s autocracy. This piece is to be read by students, so there’s no point in discussing the other side. I feel that, over the years, fewer and fewer students are going forward with their majors. Not being interested in the parent domain is fine; it is a class 12th kid’s decision, after all. But what appears to me is there are no efforts to develop an interest at all. Seemingly, the already set and prevalent path is a common choice. Most of the UGs do not even care about their major. They only want a professor not to teach, easy grades, and an easy graduation. There should be more Fs, you don’t get sad because you got an F, you get sad because very few got an F, and you were among them. The institute has even scrapped the termination policy for the UGs; after some semesters, you’ll be thrown out of campus (maximum residency), still slogging over your degree, and they’ll milk the money out of you. However, I should say that the Exit Degree Option is indeed a good initiative.

A better support structure should exist for those who genuinely find academics difficult even after trying. But, if you say a professor is horrible for giving an F in your last semester while you did not even care to put in effort, you are objectively wrong. An IITK student of a specific subject with not even an ounce of subject knowledge should not be allowed to graduate and tarnish the name of the degree. I know professors who went out of their way to teach the students who found difficulty learning despite their efforts, but they were defamed because they graded slightly harsher than a professor who distributed free grades. There are too many fests and other non-academic events throughout the year. And while you invoke that cliche Dead Poets Society quote, I agree non-academics and entertainment are essential. But not in this sheer quantity in an academic institution. Our time and efforts are better suited to other avenues rather than self-indulged frolics. The ever-increasing batch size is another nail in the coffin. Resources are the same, classrooms are getting bigger, and the quality is decreasing. IITK should not be just a job centre but an education hub. The former follows along. And education that does not serve the community is futile