IIT freshers to start with light courses before the real work

NEW DELHI: Thousands of students who crack the prestigious Joint Entrance Examination after burning the midnight oil for months may soon get a chance to unwind before

NEW DELHI: Thousands of students who crack the prestigious Joint Entrance Examination after burning the midnight oil for months may soon get a chance to unwind before plunging back into academics.

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The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are likely to introduce a three-week induction programme that will allow students to adapt to their new environment, take courses pertaining to languages and creative arts (for those who require them), and bond with classmates as well as faculty members. Normal classes will commence only after the induction course has ended.

The IIT council, the top decision-making body for the premier technological institutes, will take up the matter at a meeting chaired by human resource development (HRD) minister Prakash Javadekar on Tuesday.

The IIT-BHU at Varanasi has reportedly prepared a three-week induction module for all students set to join its first-year B Tech course with the objective of enhancing their basic language skills and conceptual understanding. Sources said all the IITs will be asked to design and execute similar modules for freshers, starting from the academic year 2017-18. “These modules will also provide crash courses to undergraduate students who require assistance in meeting IIT standards,” said a senior HRD official.

Under the proposed course, students will involve themselves in physical and literary activities, take up short courses related to the creative arts, and undergo training in the English language.

An IIT director said it was imperative that students coming from diverse cultural and economic backgrounds get an opportunity to adjust to the new environment.

“They need some time to familiarise themselves with the institute, its faculty members and other students. It will help them de-stress too,” he added.

There are 23 IITs in the country, with over 70,000 students enrolled in B Tech, M Tech and PhD courses. According to a statement made by the HRD ministry in the Rajya Sabha, as many as 656 students dropped out of the premier institutes in 2015-16 – IIT Delhi accounting for the highest number of such cases.