New Delhi:
IIT dons take heart. HRD Minister Kapil Sibal will not let a slight go unanswered. Even if it came from a colleague.
On Thursday, Sibal hit back at Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh's controversial remark that IIT and IIM faculty were not world class.
Sibal asserted that the IIT faculty was indeed world class and said teachers could not be blamed if they were not provided with resources. "Twenty five per cent of the IIT faculty are ex-IIT students...If students are world class, then you have world class faculty," Sibal said.
To bolster his argument he pointed out that "If we are to exclude all medical institutions...IIT Bombay is no 21 on the global index...IIT Delhi is no 24, IIT Kanpur 37 and IIT Madras is 39."
Also, he said, the IITs had not attained the critical mass needed to change the global scientific discourse. "If we empower our scientific community and give them the freedom...in about 7 to 10 years our premier institutions would have gained global eminence," he said, adding, "I am certain an honourable minister (Sibal did not name Jairam Ramesh here) will say in a few years that we have achieved the critical mass."
Sibal cited the example of faculty members like Professor Maninder Agarwal of IIT Kanpur, who he said had given the first method of determining prime numbers four years ago. An "error-free, pathbreaking" moment covered on the front pages of well-regarded publications like the New York Times, the New Scientist etc.
He made it clear that he was not "opposing anyone" merely "placing facts and putting them in context." And a firm statement signaled the end of debate: "The minister is entitled to his opinion and we are entitled to our viewpoint."
On Thursday, Sibal hit back at Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh's controversial remark that IIT and IIM faculty were not world class.
Sibal asserted that the IIT faculty was indeed world class and said teachers could not be blamed if they were not provided with resources. "Twenty five per cent of the IIT faculty are ex-IIT students...If students are world class, then you have world class faculty," Sibal said.
To bolster his argument he pointed out that "If we are to exclude all medical institutions...IIT Bombay is no 21 on the global index...IIT Delhi is no 24, IIT Kanpur 37 and IIT Madras is 39."
Also, he said, the IITs had not attained the critical mass needed to change the global scientific discourse. "If we empower our scientific community and give them the freedom...in about 7 to 10 years our premier institutions would have gained global eminence," he said, adding, "I am certain an honourable minister (Sibal did not name Jairam Ramesh here) will say in a few years that we have achieved the critical mass."
Sibal cited the example of faculty members like Professor Maninder Agarwal of IIT Kanpur, who he said had given the first method of determining prime numbers four years ago. An "error-free, pathbreaking" moment covered on the front pages of well-regarded publications like the New York Times, the New Scientist etc.
He made it clear that he was not "opposing anyone" merely "placing facts and putting them in context." And a firm statement signaled the end of debate: "The minister is entitled to his opinion and we are entitled to our viewpoint."
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