Amid the ongoing controversy at IIT Bombay, former IIT Delhi Director V Ramgopal Rao has raised a broader question about how India's premier engineering institutions should accommodate students arriving with very different academic backgrounds.
In a post on X, Rao said the problems currently being seen at IITs are "primarily because of the one size fits all approach" and argued that the institutions need to reconsider how undergraduate programmes are structured.
Rao, who said he has more than 25 years of experience at IIT Bombay and IIT Delhi, referred to the variation among students entering IIT classrooms. According to him, students come through an intensive coaching system, but their "JEE Advanced ranks can range from single digits to five digits within the same class".
He used CSE at IIT Delhi as an example of such variation and also pointed to language as an additional challenge for some students.
Rao's post questions whether students with such different academic backgrounds can reasonably be expected to progress through the same course structure at the same pace.
He wrote that faculty members cannot deliver every class simultaneously at several different levels. According to his account, moving too quickly can leave some students behind, while slowing down can cause others to lose interest.
He also said that his own teaching experience has included students with excellent JEE Advanced ranks who nevertheless struggled when confronted with unfamiliar questions. He attributed part of this difference to the transition from coaching-based preparation to independent learning.
Importantly, Rao said the issue is not confined to any particular admission category. He described the shift from coaching to independent learning as a challenge that can affect students more broadly.
As a possible solution, Rao proposed that IITs consider making their BTech programmes five years in duration, while allowing students who complete the required credits to graduate earlier.
Under his proposal, students who meet the credit requirements could complete the programme in four years, four-and-a-half years or five years. Those who require additional time could use the extended period to access greater academic support.
Rao suggested that this support could include:
Recorded lectures
Online learning material
Additional academic assistance
Language support where required
Greater flexibility in the pace of learning
The central idea, as outlined in his post, is that the pace of study could be determined within the IIT rather than being linked to a student's admission category or entrance rank.
