75% of IIT-B students focusing on hobbies and not academics; don’t know why they came there really
As per Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASSOCHAM), India, coaching for IIT’s JEE examination is a Rs. 10,000 crores (roughly $2 billion) industry.
Coaching for admission to the IITs and other engineering colleges has acquired the status of a big industry in India. According to the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the size of the industry is Rs 10,000 crore.
ASSOCHAM’s conclusion is based on the assumption that six lakh students attend these classes every year and the average cost for each student is Rs 1.7 lakh, a spokesman for the industry body told TOI. (link)
There are enough instances we have seen – anecdotal examples – where kids have started preparation for the IIT-JEE from the 6th grade onwards. So one would think that once a person comes into the hallowed halls of IIT, one would be in heaven and would only want to study his 4 years through. However, what we see is something totally different. A study says that 75% of the students in IIT aren’t interested in studying anymore as they come into the IIT.
As per a survey conducted by the IIT-B’s student body it was found that about 75 percent of the students are not interested in spending any time on the academic excellence but pursuing their hobbies, reported Yogita Rao for TNN.
It was also noted in the survey that 75 percent of the students did not submit the assignments without a deadline set on it. The reasons for such frivolous behavior, as concluded by the survey is the newly found passion, like that of photography, or spending time glued to the social networking and micro-blogging sites instead of working on the course solving problems or assignments given by professors. Adding to the disinterest is 70 percent of the students say that the hostel infrastructure is so pitiful that it’s hard for them to concentrate on studies. (link)
Sadly, the reason for this is the confusion in the minds of the students who come into the IITs. They don’t enter or prepare the heck out of their school years for IIT, because their hearts beat for Engineering and Sciences. The reason why they come in and do their damndest best is because there is peer pressure, Parental pressure and above all Societal expectations. This is supposed to be the best way to make money.
The report on the survey states, “Vision statement for the institute is that passion in science and technology should ideally be the reason for a student to seek admission in IIT-B. However, we have come to find that a lot of students generally don’t have a single concrete aim or reason for entering the IITs and there is a clear mismatch of ideals at the entry point. When in school, students tend to be confused as they are not sure why they aspire to get into IITs in the first place. Their decision to prepare for JEE is mostly driven due to parental pressure or herd mentality,” as reported by DNA.
This shows how sick the education system in India is. So many do not have any opportunity or the ability to get into such elite institutions. And those who make it find that they didn’t really want to be there in the first place. How sad is that?
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