Former IIT-D director calls for 5-year BTechs, says one-size-fits-all hurts students

V Ramgopal Rao has urged IITs to consider five-year BTech programmes amid the IIT Bombay controversy around professor Suryanarayana Doola. He said a flexible structure could better support students in highly heterogeneous classrooms without lowering standards.

In Short

• Rao linked the debate to recent criticism directed at professor Suryanarayana Doola
• He said IIT classrooms now combine students with vastly different JEE ranks
• Language barriers and coaching-driven learning, he argued, deepen uneven academic adjustment

V Ramgopal Rao, Group Vice-Chancellor of BITS Pilani Campuses and former Director of IIT Delhi, has called for considering five-year BTech programmes at IITs, arguing that the current “one-size-fits-all” approach does not account for the highly heterogeneous classrooms across the IIT system.

Rao, who served as Director of IIT Delhi from 2016 to 2021 and has over 25 years of experience at IIT Bombay and IIT Delhi, shared his views while responding to the recent controversy involving IIT Bombay professor Suryanarayana Doola.

“I am disturbed to see Prof. Suryanarayana Doola being vilified over the recent controversy at IIT Bombay,” Rao said. He added that he knows Doola personally and described him as “one of the finest faculty members I have known in the IIT system, and a gentleman of the highest integrity”.

“Whatever concerns have been raised should be examined fairly. A public campaign against an individual serves no one,” he said.

Rao said the problems being seen are “all primarily because of the one size fits all approach in IITs”.

‘CAN WE EXPECT EVERY STUDENT TO LEARN AT THE SAME PACE?’

According to Rao, students now come through an intensive coaching culture, while classrooms bring together students whose JEE Advanced ranks can range from single digits to five digits.

He gave the example of CSE at IIT Delhi, where students with such a wide range of ranks can be in the same class. He said this has resulted in “highly heterogeneous classrooms across the IIT system”, with language adding further to the challenge.

“The question to ask therefore is, with such heterogeneity, can we expect every student to learn at the same pace?” Rao said.

He stressed that there is “nothing wrong with opening the doors of our best institutions to students from different backgrounds”. However, he said the question is whether the IIT system has addressed this heterogeneity in its teaching-learning methods.

“A faculty member cannot pitch every class at several levels at once. Move too slowly, and some students lose interest. Move too quickly, and others are left behind,” Rao said.

He also recalled seeing students with excellent JEE Advanced ranks struggle in his classes.

“Coaching had prepared them to solve familiar types of questions quickly. Many are lost when they see a question which they haven't solved before,” he said.

‘DIFFICULTY NOT CONFINED TO ANY ADMISSION CATEGORY’

Rao said the difficulty is not limited to any particular admission category.

“This is not a difficulty confined to any admission category. The move from coaching to independent learning can be hard for anyone,” he said.

As a possible solution, Rao said IITs should consider moving their BTech programmes to five years.

“I feel we should consider moving our BTech programmes to five years in IITs,” he said.

Under the proposed model, students who meet the credit requirements could complete their degree in four years, or perhaps three and a half years. Others could spread their courses over five years and receive more academic help, including recorded lectures, online material and support with language where needed, he suggested.

“The pace would be decided by performance within the IIT, not by a student’s admission category or entrance rank,” Rao said.

‘FIVE-YEAR PROGRAMME’ COULD REDUCE STIGMA

Rao said calling it a five-year programme for everyone would also have a psychological advantage.

“Students who need more time would simply be following the programme as designed, while those who are ready could complete it sooner. No one would be singled out for taking a fifth year,” he said.

He stressed that academic standards must continue to be upheld, while recognising that students do not all arrive at the same point or learn at the same pace.

“Giving them the time and support to meet those standards is a responsibility of the system,” Rao said.

- Ends