According to recently published reports, IIT Directors are opposed to the idea of non-resident students. However, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Council said otherwise, in a meeting with the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), on August 23, 2016. PaGaLGuY spoke to IITians, to know what they have to say about it.
Mohit Goel, an alumnus of IIT Bombay, said, “After leaving an IIT, whatever problem comes in your life, you will be able to handle it. The IIT environment gives you such kind of confidence.” Goel continued, “Till class 11 and 12, students lead a very sheltered life, and most of the them are focused on academics. Once you enter an IIT, the four years do wonders in developing you as a person.”
It is this environment, full of energy, and creativity, top most minds of the country, and interaction within this community, that students will have to give up, if they are allowed to stay off-campus. It is these minds that go on to occupy top most positions in companies across the world. Atal Ashutosh Agarwal, alumnus of IIT Kharagpur (KGP), said, “IITs are defined by campus life only. It is about peer-to-peer learning, which is possible only when the community stays together in one place.” While working in groups or during cultural fests etc, most students work till late, which would not be possible for off-campus students due to various reasons.
Vyom Shrivastava, a student at IIT KGP, said, “Our campus is one big family, we learn from each other more than we learn from classes. As people say in KGP, Hostel is about bricks and mortar, Hall is about the family.”
IITians said staying off-campus will make a huge difference, which will affect the overall development of a student. They will miss out on the fun, and all the informal learning which classroom lectures can’t teach. Akhil Shukla, alumnus of IIT Patna, said, “Whatever culture one inherits at IITs is from the campus because of the constant interaction and the freedom of it, as everybody is together, at one place, 24 x 7. The biggest asset of the campus life is people can build a network.”