Monday, 19 September 2016

FB Discussions - The celebration of IIT

When we celebrate those children from the very poor who reach 'IIT', maybe we are doing a disservice in a larger sense. All my village children study hard and sincerely. Given poverty, illiterate backgrounds and poor government schools they usually end up nowhere. One is five hundred by strokes of luck and genius makes it to some elite institute. And seeing this exception, we try to 'inspire' all the poor children to work towards that - which is actually unattainable for the many many in every sense.
One of my children has struggled against all odds and joined a local engineering college. Though I support her completely, I would never showcase her as I know she is a exception, and for the majority - I need local village livlihoods ! Livlihoods which are respected and remunerated and validated, and which draw on their own inherited strengths, which are the truly sustainable skills. To create a world where IIT or ITI trained jobs are not 'superior' to these livlihoods in any sense ...
Without Gram Swaraj, the majority from talented potter and weaver and farming backgrounds become table-cleaning boys in hotels, of shop floor workers in a factory or security guards.
Paalaguttapalle (Dalitwada)

COMMENTS

Aparna Krishnan IIT trains for a certian industrial civilisation which is unsustainable for the masses as well as for the world. We need a vision of society and livlihoods that is sustainable and inclusive.

Mohua Lahiri You know the saddest thing about IIT is not about producing engineers. Most of them move from there to IIMs or go abroad for post grad. Engineering jobs are often in remote locations and smaller towns - not very aspirational for most people, right? Sad....

Rajiv Ramnath Well, the world needs everyone, including IITians :-)

Aparna Krishnan Priorities Rajiv, priorities. And an understanding of where the government subsidy shoud go. Also a deeper debate on what model of development would be inclusive and equitable, and thereby how IIT and every other institution needs to be restructured. Yes, we do need research on life in outer space, but i think it will be treated as an

Aparna Krishnan Also, I have my understanding on how the modern industrial development is only devastating the earth, and communities which depend for their livlihood on earth. The cases are each before our eyes, but is needed we can debate this. And these institutes that feed towards this are flawed. I am not picking a bone with IIT. I would question iisc similarly where i spent three subsidised years on youth in fun and floric as passing an exam meant we deserved the fun anfd floric ar taxpayer's expense !

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