The IIT craze, and what's great about it

by charvaka Fri Jun 03, 2011 5:18 pm

We had a thread here a week or so ago about the overwhelming dominance of AP in IIT-JEE results. About a quarter of all seats went to students from AP, and AP got 40 out of the top 100 ranks and 4 out of the top 5.

Behind these impressive results is the IIT-JEE coaching industry that has taken root all over the state. And last night, I heard about a great positive effect of that industry. I come from a poor family. When I had finished 10th standard, my parents had to struggle quite a bit to pay the Rs. 3,000 deposit to Little Flower Junior College, and the total fee of some Rs. 15,000 over two years. I have cousins who are in worse circumstances, that my parents have always helped out with advice, room and board at our place, and by paying their tuition fees. One of my cousins just finished tenth grade. And guess what, three coaching centers have come forward offering her free tuition, room and board for her two years of "intermediate," based on her grades in the board exam. And they are confident she will get admission to IIT if she joins them. Back in my day, this wasn't common and poor people had to take big gambles in the form of loans from loan sharks, to send their children to good schools. Now thanks to the IIT craze, poor people are getting a few more opportunities.

by confuzzled dude Sat Jun 04, 2011 10:20 pm

Good for her and good for them (it goes to show that their business is booming)

by CroMagnon Sat Jun 04, 2011 10:46 pm

I find it pleasantly surprising that some coaching centers came forward to provide free coaching to someone who couldn't afford it. But I bet, such examples are rare. For every such example there would be 10s of fake institutions taking people's hard earned money without providing quality training.

I think rather than the whole country focusing attention on getting into IIT, the focus should be diverted in forcing other institutions to provide world class education and research facilities.

by charvaka Sat Jun 04, 2011 10:48 pm

CroMagnon wrote:I find it pleasantly surprising that some coaching centers came forward to provide free coaching to someone who couldn't afford it.

There is a business reason for them to do this. Talent is scarce. And the coaching centers are in fierce competition to attract students who can potentially secure top ranks. For every top-100 ranker you can claim, you can attract hundreds of paying students.

by CroMagnon Sat Jun 04, 2011 10:54 pm

charvaka wrote:
CroMagnon wrote:I find it pleasantly surprising that some coaching centers came forward to provide free coaching to someone who couldn't afford it.
There is a business reason for them to do this. Talent is scarce. And the coaching centers are in fierce competition to attract students who can potentially secure top ranks. For every top-100 ranker you can claim, you can attract hundreds of paying students.

That is what I thought too. But how many institutions have that foresight?

by charvaka Sat Jun 04, 2011 10:58 pm

CroMagnon wrote:
That is what I thought too. But how many institutions have that foresight?

I suspect many of the bigger ones (have to) do this. If my cousin got three offers all in Hyderabad, I suspect there must be many dozens in the state that do this.

by CroMagnon Sat Jun 04, 2011 11:01 pm

That's nice.

I'm aware that a lot of good primary/middle/high schools popping up in India (though they are expensive). Is quality of education in higher education schools also improving?

by Kris Sun Jun 05, 2011 3:09 pm

three coaching centers have come forward offering her free tuition, room and board for her two years of "intermediate," based on her grades in the board exam. And they are confident she will get admission to IIT if she joins them.

>>>> This is very encouraging. I had cousins who were in the same boat with a widowed mother on a very limited income. This sort of thing would have been a godsend to them. Luckily, they made out okay thanks to their resourcefulness.

by Marathadi-Saamiyaar Sun Jun 05, 2011 3:18 pm

Someone needs to initiate a Meta-analysis of this JEE business. How do these JEE turn out 20 yrs down the road compared to the non JEEs; how do those JEE who turned down IITs turn out against those who accept, etc... to really get the whole picture.

As such, I am not sure how well these JEE aspirants are prepared to face failures, and the JEE winners to face failures.

by sambarvada Mon Jun 06, 2011 11:49 am

http://www.faadooengineers.com/threads/2175-The-Sacred-symbolism-of-IIT-IIM-brand

A new elitism

The irony, of course, is that the IITs and IIMs are no less exclusive than a snooty boarding school. The chances of the average Indian child attending either of these institutions are just as remote. Reservation quotas aside, their students represent a tiny, hyper-achieving fraction of the population, drawn from families that can afford not just private schooling but also the expensive prep courses that are de rigeur for admission. These kids are already winners in an educational system that summarily marginalises anyone less than brilliant. The education they actually receive in these institutions is mostly besides the point. As Pavan Nigam, IIT graduate and chief technology officer of Healtheon, told Salon: “Anybody who makes it into an IIT, you are now set for life. You might end up in the bottom five percent of your class but you are still set for life.”

The point of an IIT/IIM degree is no different than that of, say, a Doon School education. It’s all about personal branding and network. About going to the “right” school with the “right” people, albeit defined not by wealth but academic achievement. The old-boy IIT or IIM networks are no different from an Old Sanawarian association, and perhaps far more useful and effective.

The blinkered Jairam Ramesh — nattering on about world-class research and facilities — fails to recognise the reason those middle class parents send their kids to these valourised institutes. The IITs and IIMs are not so much temples of higher learning as passports to the very good life: Fat corporate salaries, Silicon Valley startups, lucrative stock options et al. Education in India has always been about making the moolah, the opportunity to move ahead and up the social ladder. The only difference is that this material aspiration is now enshrined as a national virtue. And the hallowed iconography surrounding IIT/IIM reflects this new reality.

“I don’t want him to go to a ratta school. Let him do whatever he wants, art, architecture, political science,” says an old friend, IIT alumna, and CEO of a successful software company. “I want him to enjoy learning. I never got the chance, but now he can.”

Oh, and that’s the other version of ‘I’ve arrived’: My kid doesn’t need to get into IIT or IIM. He can get a degree in Philosophy from Oxford instead. Sometimes, more things change…

by Marathadi-Saamiyaar Mon Jun 06, 2011 11:55 am

I saw recently at least 2 National Merit holders who are doing PhD in English at a not-so-insignificant school, and another who went for Economics at U Chicago only to switch over to History major. Of course both are ABCDs and would not budge an inch from what they want to do.

These 2 kids - I know them personally - will beat any IIT/IIMs hands down - certainly not in money or superficiality.

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