Taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay for people studying in IITs
After reading the letter to Smriti Irani, the government should really reconsider its decision of providing subsidy to IIT students, who instead of working for this country either choose another profession or get hired by a big MNC in foreign lands (“Dear Smriti Irani, stop giving my money to IITians”). If a student of IIT is willing to completely fund his/her own education, then they have every right to choose or do whatever they want. But if one wants to get the education funded by the government, then he/she has to sign a bond to work for this country in their respective domains, at least for a few years. - Sumit Tripathy
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I found your article really interesting. In my opinion, the taxpayers shouldn't have to pay for people studying in the IITs. I've seen many people, including my friends from IITs, who were bookworms all their lives. These people were hard workers in academics, but they were a big disappointment in various aspects of a desirable person's personality. They land big jobs with big pay packages just because of the college, and most of them stick to that or migrate. Hardly does anyone show interest in doing something for the country. They come across as selfish, that joining the army makes them sick but they feel ecstatic about joining IIMs or Insead or Stanford. On the other hand, there are many people who might not be exceptional in academics but are well-rounded. These are the people who dare to take risks and bring about changes, and most of them are hardly from top colleges.
It'd have been better if admission to prestigious colleges in India were not only based on academics and reservation quota but took into account a person's well rounded development as well, much like the GMAT. – Ashwin R
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As a taxpayer, I'm happy to use money to subsidise education in the IITs as long as they serve the country for at least two years in the related field of their studies. This way, the IITian gets real time opportunities, and the country can get the service of a world class engineer. – Sijo
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This article was an eye-opener. With the media being spoon-fed and amoral, the internet is coming up with path breaking news every day. Whoever you guys are, Thank you. You make a great and commendable effort. – Mukesh M
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My opinion is that subsidy should be given to a student who really needs it—students whose family income is less than Rs. 10 lakh an annum, one who has no income at all, but they must have an agreement to work for the government for at least five years. Education subsidy cannot be at a random, especially at the cost of general taxpayers’ money. It cannot also be based on religion /caste /gender /area. It should be only based on merit.
Our tax must be utilised for a noble cause to build a new generation Bharat. We cannot ignore our basic responsibility. – Arijit Ghosh
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Why should I pay for an IITian's education? Tell me what they contribute to the nation? Nothing! We taxpayers spend our money on subsidising their education, and after they get their degrees, they take up a job abroad.
Why can't our IITs be autonomous bodies and look after their expense. Let them earn and rather contribute to the government rather than opening more such institutes. As the author rightly says, they should take loans from banks instead of the subsidy. – Deepak Bhardwaj
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Do you think everyone in IIT can afford the full fees? If IITs asks for complete fees too, it will demotivate the poor intelligent students. You are citing only few cases from IITs, saying that they aren’t using their knowledge. What about the people who are?
You have cited the budget allocated for these precious students. Have you ever tried to figure out budget allocation on infrastructure and how much is actually spent on it? – Siddesh Samarth
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A serious thought must be given to the subsidies to the IITs. We produce the best to be whisked away by others in foreign land. A bond must be filled by an IITian to serve the country similar to the AFMC. – Dolly Sogani
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It's a known fact that the fees in IITs as well as several higher educational institutes is subsidised with the taxpayers’ money. It was true that earlier when bank loans were not available for higher education, our country did subsidise the education even though the graduates were going abroad and making millions. It was also true that the governments used to argue that they return to India with more knowledge and money, which seldom seem to happen. Since the job situation in India has changed and overseas situation is not too good, two things must be given a thought in safeguarding the use of taxpayers’ money and making better use of it for the unprivileged.
1. Why not do away with the subsidised professional education system and let them go for bank loans. As a retired bank executive, I am sure banks will gladly give loans.
2. Why not make it mandatory for those who enjoy subsidised education to repay the subsidy if they leave India or if they are not working in the branch of their study. Bonds may be insisted for this. – Alfie Francis Alappat
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We engineers don’t get opportunities to work in the public sector. We can start a programme where IIT & NIT students can work in the government-run companies for a particular period of time. We are ready to work and develop our India.
Only due to lack of opportunities, we chose to work for MNCs. We study using Indians’ money. We need to work for them, so please give us an opportunity. – Saki Nag
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To start with I am not an IIT student. IITs are not best because of what they are but because the best minds choose to go there. So, it takes considerable effort, time and money to create institutions that attract the best. If the government decides to stop supporting IITs and if they lose the value they have, the students will look for alternatives and eventually end up going to foreign countries or other available options.
It's important to note that Indian students spend significant amount of money today to pursue the best education overseas, which is in tune of billions of dollars of foreign currency. What India is losing there is nothing compared to what its spending to retain the best minds. – Rajendra Prasad
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The debate on whether the government should subsidise education at IITs is slowly becoming one-sided. Curtailing expenditure on education, as suggested by Jeswanth Padooru, is an excellent step towards medievalism. What's next? Higher taxes in 5-star hotels because the well-heeled go there, no gas cylinders for the upper middle class and above, not making movies tax free?
The IITs and other government funded institutes do their job—produce educated professionals. However, if our socio-economic setup does not allow these professionals the creative liberty they deserve, as a result of which they move outside the country or change streams, it is a defeat for the nation, not these individuals.
As a nation, our constitution allows us various rights and duties. Why then are we so critical of IITians? Why doesn't anyone talk the same way about cricketers? Why doesn't anyone question the so-called godmen who walk around tax-free? Yes, IITians are bright, but I do believe that brightness if not promoted will take this country back a few decades. – Ritwik Chattopadhyay
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I see it as a very simple scenario. If it's the subsidy that is the problem then the admission should be segregated to self-sponsored, government-sponsored, company-sponsored students. Government-sponsored students in return sign a bond and work for the department assigned for a certain number of years.
But the bigger issue is all jobs are critical and their training is just as much critical. The minimum qualification for becoming a doctor is an MBBS degree. We don't employ a person with a degree in fashion designing because he's from the best fashion institute. Why then do we hire an engineer to be banker? What we need is a strict line of qualifications needed of a candidate to be an employee and that has to include a relevant academic qualification. Train like you work and work like you train. – Arnav
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I don't agree with the entire content of the article about the government giving subsidy to IIT students, but loved the concept of bank loans and repayments by the student itself. The government itself can consider this subsidy as a loan to get the same back in instalments from students once they leave college. This way, students from economically backward sections will also be able to join this prestigious institute and be productive. – Dr Naveen
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If doctors can be made to do compulsory rural work, why not IITians be made to work in defence and other national services? And mind you, it takes more time to do MBBS than B.Tech. – Vishal Sidana
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It’s not whether IITians have contributed to the society/economy. The point is when there are loans available for education then why fund at the post-graduate level? You will probably be placed post completion with a package more than your two years of education cost. You can afford a loan.
The idea of subsidies is wrong. Subsidies should be given to the needy and not everyone. Same with reservations, it should be for people who deserve it and not because they belong to a certain caste. In fact, there should be no reservations in colleges but scholarships for the needy. – Deepak Agarwal
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This article is in some sense very provoking. Although I would not agree with all the points the author has stated, some regarding direct contributions to DRDO and other Indian research agencies are very valid. I would completely disagree with the gentleman who said that better opportunities would always be preferred over government jobs. If that's the case, why are doctors made to work at a pay scale where one would not imagine surviving in today's world (many states in India have specialist doctors working under a bond with a monthly income of less than Rs. 30,000). If this can be applicable to doctors, why not to our bright engineers? – Sidharth Arya
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I agree with the article. We have so many other intelligent students who can't get admission into IITs just because the cut-off marks are so high. Are they less intelligent? Of course not. Instead of granting subsidies to IITians, let them independently study using education loans, and in some cases scholarships. Transfer the same funds to build more IITs or other world class institute. The government must provide opportunities for others too. – Mansi Thakkar
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I completely agree with this article. The government should look into this seriously. Also, it is better if the government makes it mandatory for the IIT outputs to render services in India mandatorily for five years. – CVP Sharma
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Why talk about just IITs , why not talk about other prestigious institutions like AIIMS. They have unimaginably lower fees than any of the IITs. They get all the facilities and after getting their degree, we treat them like god (doctors in India are treated like one and are respected more than any politician or leader). And what many of them do is go abroad for jobs or higher studies and never come back. For everybody who talk about remittance, Keralites, Gujaratis and Punjabis send the highest remittance (accounting to more than $70 billion) and most of them are businessmen, nurses, and other white collar jobs, and not from IITs or an AIIMS. Why should I pay for their studies when all they have to do is go abroad and stay there serving all those who don’t care about India? – Ashwin George
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It is a dumb article. IIT is a brain making machine . And India as a country is facing a brain drain. You know why? Because of reservations. All talent and smartness seeks high paying jobs outside country, because India hires a 40% wala candidate because of reservation. If IITians stay in and work for India, we will rule the world in terms of technology and advancement. And we are blaming Smriti Irani. This is low thinking. Knowledge is useless without wisdom. – Pratik Pandit
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We must stop subsidy to students of IIT. If they are to look for better opportunities and pastures, they must pay for their education at the IIT. – Narendranath Shetty
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None of the politicians’ sons have joined armed forces? Should we not stop paying them too? – Natarajan Narayanaswamy
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Your article is indeed naive. By this logic, why should there be tax concessions given to industrialists, or freebies to the big & mighty? – Subir Ghosh
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First, I am not an IITian nor anyone in my family is either. I’m not even attached to a political party. I would like to mention that it is mere stupidity to write such articles. I won’t write anything just for sake of writing. – Aman Kapoor
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This is fairly controversial. It is the duty of the citizens to excel in their chosen field. Hence, it is also their duty to secure the best education that they can afford, whether it is being subsidised or not is not their lookout. That is a call that is made by the government. The best among them will earn scholarships.
Let us not forget that they are some of our brightest scholars. When it comes to employment, let us not forget that the whole world is a marketplace. Market forces decide what the remunerations will be. Please understand that whether you graduate from IIT and/or an IIM, the government does not guarantee any jobs. – Ranjit Gurkar
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I have a suggestion regarding what government should follow. This is a practice in the corporate world. If a person wants to go for his/her higher education, the company pays for it and make them sign a bond so that for a certain period of time, they will be required to serve the company. The Indian government too should follow the same with IITians--pay for their degree but make them sign a bond saying that after they graduate, they have to work for the government. – Atul Jalan
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I think those who study in the IIT must be put under a bond to serve the nation for at least five years if they are leaving the country, as is done with the doctors in Maharashtra. – Milind Dunakhe
Missing the point
I read both the arguments, for and against the subsidies to the IIT, and being a liberal myself (or that’s what I assume I am) and keeping my pre-conceived biases aside, I still want to say that you didn’t address the core issue in your counter-article (“No, Smriti Irani is not wasting your money on the IITians”). The original author may have quoted very superficial examples as corroborations to his argument, but there is significant validity in his underlying anguish. Please bear in mind that though I am not an IITian, I have great respect for them and for the institute.
I kind of see his point of view, though I am technically on the receiving end. His underlying anguish is, IITians don’t "need" the subsidy that is bestowed on them. In fact, most of the students would have spent lakhs of rupees for years before joining an IIT for their tuitions and “coaching classes” to crack the entrance. Without falling into the trap of generalisation, most of these students can afford Rs. 3.5 lakh in the current situation. Even for those who couldn’t afford it, there are unsecured non-collateral educational loans, which can help them fund their study. Hence, his underlying question is why we are sticking to this old-school economics of subsidy to a group of people who don’t deserve or need it. – Imay Varamban
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Mr NS Selvan tries valiantly but fails to substantially counter the points raised by Jeswanth Padooru. Being an IITian myself, I can understand and appreciate the strange predicament of my fellow IITians who have strayed from their initial objective of learning and applying engineering to solve day-to-day problems in India, to answer what appears to be their great inner calling, namely of writing some software code or work in financial services.
1. India, given its appetite for creating large number of meaningful jobs in the manufacturing sector, certainly does not need firms like Flipkart and Snapdeal at this stage of its growth. These firms do more harm than good to the nation by creating hyper-glorified clerical jobs.
2. The limited success of ISRO can be attributed to the engineers and scientists who toiled hard for several years, and I don't think any of their programme managers or directors hold IIT degrees.
3. IITs were set up as part of a grand vision of Nehru and one will be ashamed to compare the lofty objectives of setting up these institutes with what has been achieved by their alumni. Part of the taxpayers’ monies was supposed to be used as subsidies to create engineers who were in turn supposed to fulfil these objectives, and if this is not happening, there is no point continuing with the subsidies. – Seshadri Akella
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The response to the subsidies to IITs is absolute useless. The author has direct questions but the responses are weak. It seems they are just trying to defend themselves. There can be a solutions by mandatory recruiting IITans for a certain period of time and use their knowledge for the country's betterment. – Vikrant Singh
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The counter argument didn't satisfy me. Why are we really lagging behind in research? This is the reason we have to depend on other countries for defence procurement.
We do have some expectations from reputed institutes of our country where only few manage to reach. Chemical engineers do need to work in the army, but they can with the ISRO where the condition is said to be pathetic. Contributing to the economy is a different thing and taking the country to a pedestal from where we could lead it is different. That's why the NDA government in their previous tenure wanted students from IIMs to earn here. PM Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India' programme does need attention. – Aksheev Thakur
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I don't know what Smriti Irani is doing that no other government has done for me. I studied every day with hurdles and with no help from the government, as it was too busy helping students who are SC, ST or those who crack the IIT. And today I am paying tax to such a government who doesn’t even think about poor people, education of their children.
Corrupt politicians are eating away our tax money with nobody taking care of it. I would have wanted 10 people got educated rather than an IITian who even can't work for his/her own country. Contributing tax can't justify them. You do mechanical, chemical engineering and then move to another field. If you have no such interest, why did you waste my money in learning it?
Don't waste public money while you have good offers from private firms. – Vinay Prajapati
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The writer conveniently forgot to say anything about the majority of IIT students accepting positions in foreign countries with multinational companies. – Anju Jain
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I have read the view and counter-view of the subsidies to the IITs. It’s not just IITians who get subsidy in their education, but any government institution candidate of any field, including doctors. The only difference is that a doctor is made to do mandatory service in an area of need after completing his/her studies, while the IITian does not. The question here is why. - Maria Cecilia
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I think the article missed the point. The government’s money or money through tax is to be used for nation building and overall economic growth for the entire nation. The points stated about ISRO, nuclear missions and Mars/lunar missions are correct, but the larger point remains that this was done without the people who were given special education for such projects.
Payment of tax is a critical aspect as a contribution, but that is not the reason why people are being trained in IITs. Also, if you are talking about the education system, you need to understand we are a country with scarcity of resources and its good for someone who has secured a seat in IIM as a chemical engineer to pick up a job at Flipkart, but then he should pay for it out of his own pocket (resources are available in form of bank loans).
The bottom line is the concern raised by author in the first place is valid, and there should be a bond that every IITian student should sign to work for government project. – Mitesh Shah
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You said the government should not subsidise fees in the IIT, at the same time you could also have suggested what needs subsidy instead. My second point is why the criticism for a fellow Indian who studied hard and got the top rank. – Satish Kumar
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While in defence of IITians to a highly pertinent issue raised by the writer, the defending writer has tried to put forth the most ridiculous arguments .It is a known to all that IITians get the best of education and treated as the cream of the lot. It is high time that a commitment is ensured and public money is not wasted for pursuing glamour and high paying jobs outside the country with no obligations at all. – Sandeep Seth
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My dear IITian, it was heartening to learn that you could spare some precious time from your busy schedule to respond. To cut it short, it is not what you contribute (as you so painstakingly justified), it is where you contribute that matters to the society and the country. – Major MR Kumar
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The reply post didn't respond to any of the statement in the original post. If you really want to counter, try to provide info of what IITians did for India. And provide loans not subsidies to students in government colleges, not just IITs or NITs. Help us be better engineers at least to pay the debt to the government. – Mohammad Rafi Shaik
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The point here is why should the government subsidise the fee for someone who goes to the IIT? While I agree with the points raised by the author in response to the first article, he does not make any point as to why in the first place IITians should get subsidised fee. Only because they passed an entrance exam? Well, they are in the best school because they cleared the entrance criteria and are getting access to the best professors and facilities in the country. Further subsidising the fee using taxpayers’ money is no way justified. – Hari
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Your perception about IITians is severely misplaced. I am an MBBS doctor who paid for my education, yet I had to do a year of mandatory service to the nation just because India needs doctors. We are ready to do that, but we work hard for six years to complete the course and after that a year of mandatory service, and later post-graduation another three years. It takes approximately 11 years to complete our studies. Keep in mind most of us pay our own fees without getting any support from the government. But the IITians finish their studies in a period of six years and get a mammoth of a salary afterwards. They don’t need to do any service for the country, and most of them leave India.
No, sir, I don’t agree with your thinking that our money is coming back. Those who want to settle in other countries and earn a lot of money can study with their own money and do so. Why should we pay for their luxuries afterwards? I personally don’t mind two years of service to my country, even if I paid my fees through college. – Akhilesh Reddy Thumma
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letters@scroll.in.
After reading the letter to Smriti Irani, the government should really reconsider its decision of providing subsidy to IIT students, who instead of working for this country either choose another profession or get hired by a big MNC in foreign lands (“Dear Smriti Irani, stop giving my money to IITians”). If a student of IIT is willing to completely fund his/her own education, then they have every right to choose or do whatever they want. But if one wants to get the education funded by the government, then he/she has to sign a bond to work for this country in their respective domains, at least for a few years. - Sumit Tripathy
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I found your article really interesting. In my opinion, the taxpayers shouldn't have to pay for people studying in the IITs. I've seen many people, including my friends from IITs, who were bookworms all their lives. These people were hard workers in academics, but they were a big disappointment in various aspects of a desirable person's personality. They land big jobs with big pay packages just because of the college, and most of them stick to that or migrate. Hardly does anyone show interest in doing something for the country. They come across as selfish, that joining the army makes them sick but they feel ecstatic about joining IIMs or Insead or Stanford. On the other hand, there are many people who might not be exceptional in academics but are well-rounded. These are the people who dare to take risks and bring about changes, and most of them are hardly from top colleges.
It'd have been better if admission to prestigious colleges in India were not only based on academics and reservation quota but took into account a person's well rounded development as well, much like the GMAT. – Ashwin R
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As a taxpayer, I'm happy to use money to subsidise education in the IITs as long as they serve the country for at least two years in the related field of their studies. This way, the IITian gets real time opportunities, and the country can get the service of a world class engineer. – Sijo
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This article was an eye-opener. With the media being spoon-fed and amoral, the internet is coming up with path breaking news every day. Whoever you guys are, Thank you. You make a great and commendable effort. – Mukesh M
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My opinion is that subsidy should be given to a student who really needs it—students whose family income is less than Rs. 10 lakh an annum, one who has no income at all, but they must have an agreement to work for the government for at least five years. Education subsidy cannot be at a random, especially at the cost of general taxpayers’ money. It cannot also be based on religion /caste /gender /area. It should be only based on merit.
Our tax must be utilised for a noble cause to build a new generation Bharat. We cannot ignore our basic responsibility. – Arijit Ghosh
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Why should I pay for an IITian's education? Tell me what they contribute to the nation? Nothing! We taxpayers spend our money on subsidising their education, and after they get their degrees, they take up a job abroad.
Why can't our IITs be autonomous bodies and look after their expense. Let them earn and rather contribute to the government rather than opening more such institutes. As the author rightly says, they should take loans from banks instead of the subsidy. – Deepak Bhardwaj
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Do you think everyone in IIT can afford the full fees? If IITs asks for complete fees too, it will demotivate the poor intelligent students. You are citing only few cases from IITs, saying that they aren’t using their knowledge. What about the people who are?
You have cited the budget allocated for these precious students. Have you ever tried to figure out budget allocation on infrastructure and how much is actually spent on it? – Siddesh Samarth
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A serious thought must be given to the subsidies to the IITs. We produce the best to be whisked away by others in foreign land. A bond must be filled by an IITian to serve the country similar to the AFMC. – Dolly Sogani
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It's a known fact that the fees in IITs as well as several higher educational institutes is subsidised with the taxpayers’ money. It was true that earlier when bank loans were not available for higher education, our country did subsidise the education even though the graduates were going abroad and making millions. It was also true that the governments used to argue that they return to India with more knowledge and money, which seldom seem to happen. Since the job situation in India has changed and overseas situation is not too good, two things must be given a thought in safeguarding the use of taxpayers’ money and making better use of it for the unprivileged.
1. Why not do away with the subsidised professional education system and let them go for bank loans. As a retired bank executive, I am sure banks will gladly give loans.
2. Why not make it mandatory for those who enjoy subsidised education to repay the subsidy if they leave India or if they are not working in the branch of their study. Bonds may be insisted for this. – Alfie Francis Alappat
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We engineers don’t get opportunities to work in the public sector. We can start a programme where IIT & NIT students can work in the government-run companies for a particular period of time. We are ready to work and develop our India.
Only due to lack of opportunities, we chose to work for MNCs. We study using Indians’ money. We need to work for them, so please give us an opportunity. – Saki Nag
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To start with I am not an IIT student. IITs are not best because of what they are but because the best minds choose to go there. So, it takes considerable effort, time and money to create institutions that attract the best. If the government decides to stop supporting IITs and if they lose the value they have, the students will look for alternatives and eventually end up going to foreign countries or other available options.
It's important to note that Indian students spend significant amount of money today to pursue the best education overseas, which is in tune of billions of dollars of foreign currency. What India is losing there is nothing compared to what its spending to retain the best minds. – Rajendra Prasad
***
The debate on whether the government should subsidise education at IITs is slowly becoming one-sided. Curtailing expenditure on education, as suggested by Jeswanth Padooru, is an excellent step towards medievalism. What's next? Higher taxes in 5-star hotels because the well-heeled go there, no gas cylinders for the upper middle class and above, not making movies tax free?
The IITs and other government funded institutes do their job—produce educated professionals. However, if our socio-economic setup does not allow these professionals the creative liberty they deserve, as a result of which they move outside the country or change streams, it is a defeat for the nation, not these individuals.
As a nation, our constitution allows us various rights and duties. Why then are we so critical of IITians? Why doesn't anyone talk the same way about cricketers? Why doesn't anyone question the so-called godmen who walk around tax-free? Yes, IITians are bright, but I do believe that brightness if not promoted will take this country back a few decades. – Ritwik Chattopadhyay
***
I see it as a very simple scenario. If it's the subsidy that is the problem then the admission should be segregated to self-sponsored, government-sponsored, company-sponsored students. Government-sponsored students in return sign a bond and work for the department assigned for a certain number of years.
But the bigger issue is all jobs are critical and their training is just as much critical. The minimum qualification for becoming a doctor is an MBBS degree. We don't employ a person with a degree in fashion designing because he's from the best fashion institute. Why then do we hire an engineer to be banker? What we need is a strict line of qualifications needed of a candidate to be an employee and that has to include a relevant academic qualification. Train like you work and work like you train. – Arnav
***
I don't agree with the entire content of the article about the government giving subsidy to IIT students, but loved the concept of bank loans and repayments by the student itself. The government itself can consider this subsidy as a loan to get the same back in instalments from students once they leave college. This way, students from economically backward sections will also be able to join this prestigious institute and be productive. – Dr Naveen
***
If doctors can be made to do compulsory rural work, why not IITians be made to work in defence and other national services? And mind you, it takes more time to do MBBS than B.Tech. – Vishal Sidana
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It’s not whether IITians have contributed to the society/economy. The point is when there are loans available for education then why fund at the post-graduate level? You will probably be placed post completion with a package more than your two years of education cost. You can afford a loan.
The idea of subsidies is wrong. Subsidies should be given to the needy and not everyone. Same with reservations, it should be for people who deserve it and not because they belong to a certain caste. In fact, there should be no reservations in colleges but scholarships for the needy. – Deepak Agarwal
***
This article is in some sense very provoking. Although I would not agree with all the points the author has stated, some regarding direct contributions to DRDO and other Indian research agencies are very valid. I would completely disagree with the gentleman who said that better opportunities would always be preferred over government jobs. If that's the case, why are doctors made to work at a pay scale where one would not imagine surviving in today's world (many states in India have specialist doctors working under a bond with a monthly income of less than Rs. 30,000). If this can be applicable to doctors, why not to our bright engineers? – Sidharth Arya
***
I agree with the article. We have so many other intelligent students who can't get admission into IITs just because the cut-off marks are so high. Are they less intelligent? Of course not. Instead of granting subsidies to IITians, let them independently study using education loans, and in some cases scholarships. Transfer the same funds to build more IITs or other world class institute. The government must provide opportunities for others too. – Mansi Thakkar
***
I completely agree with this article. The government should look into this seriously. Also, it is better if the government makes it mandatory for the IIT outputs to render services in India mandatorily for five years. – CVP Sharma
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Why talk about just IITs , why not talk about other prestigious institutions like AIIMS. They have unimaginably lower fees than any of the IITs. They get all the facilities and after getting their degree, we treat them like god (doctors in India are treated like one and are respected more than any politician or leader). And what many of them do is go abroad for jobs or higher studies and never come back. For everybody who talk about remittance, Keralites, Gujaratis and Punjabis send the highest remittance (accounting to more than $70 billion) and most of them are businessmen, nurses, and other white collar jobs, and not from IITs or an AIIMS. Why should I pay for their studies when all they have to do is go abroad and stay there serving all those who don’t care about India? – Ashwin George
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It is a dumb article. IIT is a brain making machine . And India as a country is facing a brain drain. You know why? Because of reservations. All talent and smartness seeks high paying jobs outside country, because India hires a 40% wala candidate because of reservation. If IITians stay in and work for India, we will rule the world in terms of technology and advancement. And we are blaming Smriti Irani. This is low thinking. Knowledge is useless without wisdom. – Pratik Pandit
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We must stop subsidy to students of IIT. If they are to look for better opportunities and pastures, they must pay for their education at the IIT. – Narendranath Shetty
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None of the politicians’ sons have joined armed forces? Should we not stop paying them too? – Natarajan Narayanaswamy
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Your article is indeed naive. By this logic, why should there be tax concessions given to industrialists, or freebies to the big & mighty? – Subir Ghosh
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First, I am not an IITian nor anyone in my family is either. I’m not even attached to a political party. I would like to mention that it is mere stupidity to write such articles. I won’t write anything just for sake of writing. – Aman Kapoor
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This is fairly controversial. It is the duty of the citizens to excel in their chosen field. Hence, it is also their duty to secure the best education that they can afford, whether it is being subsidised or not is not their lookout. That is a call that is made by the government. The best among them will earn scholarships.
Let us not forget that they are some of our brightest scholars. When it comes to employment, let us not forget that the whole world is a marketplace. Market forces decide what the remunerations will be. Please understand that whether you graduate from IIT and/or an IIM, the government does not guarantee any jobs. – Ranjit Gurkar
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I have a suggestion regarding what government should follow. This is a practice in the corporate world. If a person wants to go for his/her higher education, the company pays for it and make them sign a bond so that for a certain period of time, they will be required to serve the company. The Indian government too should follow the same with IITians--pay for their degree but make them sign a bond saying that after they graduate, they have to work for the government. – Atul Jalan
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I think those who study in the IIT must be put under a bond to serve the nation for at least five years if they are leaving the country, as is done with the doctors in Maharashtra. – Milind Dunakhe
Missing the point
I read both the arguments, for and against the subsidies to the IIT, and being a liberal myself (or that’s what I assume I am) and keeping my pre-conceived biases aside, I still want to say that you didn’t address the core issue in your counter-article (“No, Smriti Irani is not wasting your money on the IITians”). The original author may have quoted very superficial examples as corroborations to his argument, but there is significant validity in his underlying anguish. Please bear in mind that though I am not an IITian, I have great respect for them and for the institute.
I kind of see his point of view, though I am technically on the receiving end. His underlying anguish is, IITians don’t "need" the subsidy that is bestowed on them. In fact, most of the students would have spent lakhs of rupees for years before joining an IIT for their tuitions and “coaching classes” to crack the entrance. Without falling into the trap of generalisation, most of these students can afford Rs. 3.5 lakh in the current situation. Even for those who couldn’t afford it, there are unsecured non-collateral educational loans, which can help them fund their study. Hence, his underlying question is why we are sticking to this old-school economics of subsidy to a group of people who don’t deserve or need it. – Imay Varamban
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Mr NS Selvan tries valiantly but fails to substantially counter the points raised by Jeswanth Padooru. Being an IITian myself, I can understand and appreciate the strange predicament of my fellow IITians who have strayed from their initial objective of learning and applying engineering to solve day-to-day problems in India, to answer what appears to be their great inner calling, namely of writing some software code or work in financial services.
1. India, given its appetite for creating large number of meaningful jobs in the manufacturing sector, certainly does not need firms like Flipkart and Snapdeal at this stage of its growth. These firms do more harm than good to the nation by creating hyper-glorified clerical jobs.
2. The limited success of ISRO can be attributed to the engineers and scientists who toiled hard for several years, and I don't think any of their programme managers or directors hold IIT degrees.
3. IITs were set up as part of a grand vision of Nehru and one will be ashamed to compare the lofty objectives of setting up these institutes with what has been achieved by their alumni. Part of the taxpayers’ monies was supposed to be used as subsidies to create engineers who were in turn supposed to fulfil these objectives, and if this is not happening, there is no point continuing with the subsidies. – Seshadri Akella
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The response to the subsidies to IITs is absolute useless. The author has direct questions but the responses are weak. It seems they are just trying to defend themselves. There can be a solutions by mandatory recruiting IITans for a certain period of time and use their knowledge for the country's betterment. – Vikrant Singh
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The counter argument didn't satisfy me. Why are we really lagging behind in research? This is the reason we have to depend on other countries for defence procurement.
We do have some expectations from reputed institutes of our country where only few manage to reach. Chemical engineers do need to work in the army, but they can with the ISRO where the condition is said to be pathetic. Contributing to the economy is a different thing and taking the country to a pedestal from where we could lead it is different. That's why the NDA government in their previous tenure wanted students from IIMs to earn here. PM Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India' programme does need attention. – Aksheev Thakur
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I don't know what Smriti Irani is doing that no other government has done for me. I studied every day with hurdles and with no help from the government, as it was too busy helping students who are SC, ST or those who crack the IIT. And today I am paying tax to such a government who doesn’t even think about poor people, education of their children.
Corrupt politicians are eating away our tax money with nobody taking care of it. I would have wanted 10 people got educated rather than an IITian who even can't work for his/her own country. Contributing tax can't justify them. You do mechanical, chemical engineering and then move to another field. If you have no such interest, why did you waste my money in learning it?
Don't waste public money while you have good offers from private firms. – Vinay Prajapati
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The writer conveniently forgot to say anything about the majority of IIT students accepting positions in foreign countries with multinational companies. – Anju Jain
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I have read the view and counter-view of the subsidies to the IITs. It’s not just IITians who get subsidy in their education, but any government institution candidate of any field, including doctors. The only difference is that a doctor is made to do mandatory service in an area of need after completing his/her studies, while the IITian does not. The question here is why. - Maria Cecilia
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I think the article missed the point. The government’s money or money through tax is to be used for nation building and overall economic growth for the entire nation. The points stated about ISRO, nuclear missions and Mars/lunar missions are correct, but the larger point remains that this was done without the people who were given special education for such projects.
Payment of tax is a critical aspect as a contribution, but that is not the reason why people are being trained in IITs. Also, if you are talking about the education system, you need to understand we are a country with scarcity of resources and its good for someone who has secured a seat in IIM as a chemical engineer to pick up a job at Flipkart, but then he should pay for it out of his own pocket (resources are available in form of bank loans).
The bottom line is the concern raised by author in the first place is valid, and there should be a bond that every IITian student should sign to work for government project. – Mitesh Shah
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You said the government should not subsidise fees in the IIT, at the same time you could also have suggested what needs subsidy instead. My second point is why the criticism for a fellow Indian who studied hard and got the top rank. – Satish Kumar
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While in defence of IITians to a highly pertinent issue raised by the writer, the defending writer has tried to put forth the most ridiculous arguments .It is a known to all that IITians get the best of education and treated as the cream of the lot. It is high time that a commitment is ensured and public money is not wasted for pursuing glamour and high paying jobs outside the country with no obligations at all. – Sandeep Seth
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My dear IITian, it was heartening to learn that you could spare some precious time from your busy schedule to respond. To cut it short, it is not what you contribute (as you so painstakingly justified), it is where you contribute that matters to the society and the country. – Major MR Kumar
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The reply post didn't respond to any of the statement in the original post. If you really want to counter, try to provide info of what IITians did for India. And provide loans not subsidies to students in government colleges, not just IITs or NITs. Help us be better engineers at least to pay the debt to the government. – Mohammad Rafi Shaik
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The point here is why should the government subsidise the fee for someone who goes to the IIT? While I agree with the points raised by the author in response to the first article, he does not make any point as to why in the first place IITians should get subsidised fee. Only because they passed an entrance exam? Well, they are in the best school because they cleared the entrance criteria and are getting access to the best professors and facilities in the country. Further subsidising the fee using taxpayers’ money is no way justified. – Hari
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Your perception about IITians is severely misplaced. I am an MBBS doctor who paid for my education, yet I had to do a year of mandatory service to the nation just because India needs doctors. We are ready to do that, but we work hard for six years to complete the course and after that a year of mandatory service, and later post-graduation another three years. It takes approximately 11 years to complete our studies. Keep in mind most of us pay our own fees without getting any support from the government. But the IITians finish their studies in a period of six years and get a mammoth of a salary afterwards. They don’t need to do any service for the country, and most of them leave India.
No, sir, I don’t agree with your thinking that our money is coming back. Those who want to settle in other countries and earn a lot of money can study with their own money and do so. Why should we pay for their luxuries afterwards? I personally don’t mind two years of service to my country, even if I paid my fees through college. – Akhilesh Reddy Thumma