Favouring a fundamental change in the government’s outlook on premier institutions like the IITs, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi has advocated the idea of allowing them full freedom and autonomy if they are to compete at the global level with the Harvards and Oxfords.
Rahul expressed his views at a recent meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on HRD, of which he is a member. According to sources, Rahul’s brief but forceful intervention in the October 1 meeting, that took up the Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Bill 2010, underlined his conviction that higher education, especially relating to technology, is in dire need of reform. It was the first time that he made a compelling point at the meeting of the committee.
According to sources, the Congress leader — who is seen as a youth icon and has been touring educational institutions across the country for some time now — is of the opinion that the IITs would do well to integrate at the global level so that it becomes a modern education system. “At the moment, the IITs are disconnected and like silos. They are like a well,” he is reported to have told the committee.
