Do India really need more AIIMS and IIT’s?

Do India really need more AIIMS and IIT’s (Indian education – Quality vs Quantity analysis)

Although the recent announcement that the government will be opening more IIT’s and IIMs appears to be pleasant for the students looking for admissions in these reputed institutions, many believe that the reality is not very pleasing for these students. It is argued that by setting up new premier institutions, the image’ of these premierinstitutions may be jeopardized. Although at present there are 16 IITs and 13 IIMs, most of the students want to take admissions in the institutionsthat are at the top only. There is a widespread belief the recently set up institutions do not have the required infrastructure as a result, it is doubtful if the move to have more such institutions can be considered as a wise move.

In this scenario, the most debated question becomes that what needs to be chosen by the government in the field of education, quality or quantity. In most of the cases, the answer given by most of the persons will be that quality needs to be given preference over quantity; another question arises why the focus is on quantity without an improvementin the standard of already present institutions. There are a number of teaching positions that are lying vacant in the IITs that have been opened recently as a result of many different issues. Sometimes, good teachers are not willing to relocate to remote areas and therefore, these institutions are to face the major problem of vacant positions among the members of the faculty. At the same time, the most brilliant students want to join the top IITs and IIMs, and the students are not much willing to join the other institutions opened by the government recently. As a result they immediately start looking for other options when they come to know that they’re not going to get a seat in the top institutions of the country. As a result, it is not very surprising that the students are selecting different brands as compared to the recentlyset up IITs and IIMs. As a result it is not surprising that not only several teaching slots are lying vacant in the newly opened institutions, there are also a number of seats that are lying vacant in these institutions.

At the same time, in the opinion of the experts, the threshold of difficulty has also dropped down in these institutions and as a result many students who have average skills have also been able to pass the exams. Later on the seats are left vacant as in a number of cases; these students are not able to achieve a good result in their board exams. Although this reason may be cited as a main reason by the officials however, it is not fully supported by the facts. Therefore in the end it can be said that in view of the fact that the students prefer other institutions in management and technology, it appears that need of the hour isnot quantity but quality when it comes to the field of education. Under these circumstances, it appears that it is more desirable to increase the quality and standard of the already established IIT’s and IIMs that are lacking behind instead of introducing new institutions.