IIT JEE – INSIDER ACCESS
IITs worried as reserved seats remain unfilled
Even as the process for applying to the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) 2010 of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) has begun, figures from JEE 2009 reveal that 137 seats meant for candidates with physical disabilities (PD), got wasted. The reason is that not enough disabled candidates qualify, and these seats cannot be converted into general seats.
“Unless the rules are changed and the IITs are allowed to transfer the vacant PD seats to general or non-PD seats within the category, we will not be able to stop this loss,” said Anil Kumar, JEE 2010 chairman, IIT Bombay.
As per a judgment passed by the chief commissioner for persons with disabilities, IITs were directed to treat disabled candidates on a par with scheduled caste (SC)/scheduled tribe (ST) candidates and give them similar relaxation from 2009, including admission for preparatory courses.
Currently, 3% seats in each category [general category, SC, ST and other backward classes (OBC)] are reserved for disabled students in each IIT. While the total number of PD seats in 2009 across all IITs was 251, only 138 candidates could qualify at the JEE, despite 12% more disabled candidates taking the exam as compared to 2008.
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| IITs smile as MNCs return to campuses |
Companies are back in business at the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). Though final placements begin only from December 1 on the campuses, multinational companies have started showering students with plum job offers.
Tower Research Capital, a financial services company from New York, has confirmed participation at IIT Kanpur and said it will make its highest offer at Rs 44.5 lakh per annum to the best candidate — an over 100 per cent increase over last year’s highest salary offer of Rs 21.5 lakh. The company will make this offer to students during the final placements.
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IIT-Kharagpur Introduces Faculty Quota
In a circular, the oldest IIT of the country has invited application from ‘Indian nationals, possessing excellent background, commitment to quality teaching and potential for carryout outstanding research’.
‘Without any compromise on qualification, experience, and competence, reservation as per government of India rules is available only at entry level positions of assistant professors,’ it said.
Though the previous HRD minister Arjun Singh had asked the IITs to introduce faculty quota, these elite institutes were up in arms against it.
After much uproar, protest and candlelight vigils inside campuses, they were directed by current HRD Minister Kapil Sibal a few months back to follow the government line.
The ministry has asked IITs to lay down 15 percent quota for Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates, 7.5 percent for Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates and 27 percent quota for other backward classes (OBC) in teaching positions.
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Reservation cannot be abolished immediately: Rahul Gandhi
AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi today said under the prevailing circumstances the ongoing reservation system could not be abolished immediately.
“While one advocates for immediate abolition of reservation the other opinion opposes to the idea,” he observed.
The young Congress MP said in the present context reservationcould not be abolished immediately.
Mr Gandhi’s remarks came in response to question from a student who had asked the relevance of reservation and held that it was not in the interest of bright and talented youth.
One student objected over setting up of IIT in Jodhpur and said it was earlier supposed to be set up in Kota as this city had all necessary infrastructure.
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‘Earn while you learn’ prog begins at IIT-GN
The Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar (IIT-GN) will begin an ‘earn while you learn’ offer for its undergraduate students. According to the authorities of the institute, the programme will help students earn their pocket money while getting firsthand experience of the various administrative operations of the institute. The institute will benefit by this by having extra helping hands, the authorities of IIT-GN said.
“Selected students from the second-year batch will be allowed to work for a maximum of eight hours a week during the semester, and 40 hours per week during the vacations.
They will be paid a remuneration of Rs50 to Rs80 per hour. Initially, 25 to 30 students will be selected for the programme,” said Jaison Manjaly, assistant professor and faculty coordinator for the programme.
Manjaly said that the programme will help the students gain exposure to administrative, organisational and human-resource management. “The students will be engaged in the library, computer centre, laboratories, general administration, placement services, public relations etc,” he said.
Sudhir Jain, director of IIT-GN, said that the programme will provide a mutually beneficial situation for the students and the institute. “Engaging the students in the management of the institute will help us keep a check on the quality and efficiency of the workforce. The programme will utilise mostly the unproductive time of the students, so that their academic and extracurricular activities are not affected. The programme will also be a confidence-building mechanism for the students and will help them prepare for the challenge of teamwork. Moreover, the programme will add value to their resumes and profiles,” he said. Jain said that students with a CPI of seven and above will be eligible for participation in the programme.
Rajasthan IIT to run from Jodhpur college
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Rajasthan, which is scheduled to begin its academic session next year, will temporarily operate from the M.B.M. (Mugniram Bangur Memorial) Engineering College in Jodhpur until the construction of a new building.
“A letter for acquisition of land for the IIT has been sent to the District Collector. Four hundred twenty one acres land out of the marked land is under private ownership, thus their acquisition process will start soon”, the institute’s Chief Administrative Officer Vipin Chandra Sharma said. He also informed that the IIT will run at the MBMEngineering College till the construction of the new building is complete. The laboratories of the college will be constructed at par with the IIT. Students opting for hostel facility at the IIT, would, for the time being, be accommodated in the hostel constructed for AIMS. The three-member group from IIT Rajasthan has also demanded 100 acres more land near the marked one so that research project for the IIT could be established there. A decision on the extra land requirement will be taken only once the three-member group from IIT Rajasthan submits its report seeking more land for the IIT. IIT for early diagnosis of malaria, brain tumour Controlling Malaria is always a challenge to medicos as the parasites constantly develop resistance to drugs that are available. Therefore, to diagnose the two types of malarial parasites at a very early stage and also develop new drug targets, it is essential to identify the protein biomarkers in patient’s blood, said Dr Sanjeeva Srivastava of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) here. IIT Mumbai and the local civic-run King Edwards Memorial (KEM) Hospital have come together to work on early diagnosis of malarial parasites using the emerging science of Proteomics to identify the biomarkers in patients, Srivastava, who heads the Proteomic research in IIT’s department of Biosciences and Bioengineering told PTI. The biomarkers are proteins that indicate a patient’s physiological state.
