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It has been a week since tragedy struck IITKgp. Things are returning to normal. Students have stopped questioning the attitude of the administration. Only a select few are taking an active interest in being a part of the change.
There has to be change - no question about that. The events that unfolded last week suggest that IITKgp is far from being a 'Centre of Excellence'. A 'Centre of Excellence' like IIT cannot survive solely on the strength of its students. There needs to be change - and for the better.
B.C. Roy Hospital
That an IIT could have such an ill-equipped hospital - I had never imagined. Despite several cases of negligence coming to the fore, nothing has been done about it.
Why does the administration not realise that a hospital with state-of-art facilities will not just serve the students but also the staff and the faculty?
The students here will stay for 4 years and then move on. In that short span, they can bring about only a few changes. A large part of the initiative has to come from the Junta who have been staying in Kgp for some time.
Transport Facilities
The impression I had formed of Kharagpur in Delhi was far from accurate. In Delhi, I had taken the transport system for granted. The 781 Blueline bus and the Metro was so convenient for my daily 'up-down' to DCE that I couldn't think of something as bad as the Kgp transport system. Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined that I would have to hire a Rikshaw to go to the Railway Station.
Why IITKgp does not have a bus service in the campus till date escapes me. That Rohit Kumar had to be taken to the Hospital in a Rikshaw is a real shame. It baffles me why the institute does not have an hourly bus service covering the important landmarks in the campus.
Why - won't it serve the interests of all - students, faculty and the staff?
Food
Every now and then, Professors at IITKgp talk of the standard of students degrading by the day. They blame it on the 'Coaching Centres' and the increasing intake into the IITs. Never do they realise that a student's performance reflects his/her mental and physical well being.
How can someone concentrate in the class when the food being served at the hostel is repeated every 7 days - as it is. Can we not have a regular review by an expert/nutritionist on the quality of food? Am I asking for too much? But don't the IIT Professors expect a lot out of us? Surely, we deserve better quality food.
Rohit Kumar's headaches might have been a direct consequence of the quality of food at the hostel. I am speculating here but we don't wish to have more incidents - do we?
Then why not improve the quality of food at the hostel?
Faculty - Student Interaction
A lot can change if the students learn to interact with the Professors. How can that happen? And when can that happen? It can happen only when we have a better faculty : student ratio. I don't see any point in going to classes if I cannot interact with the Professor. I might as well watch the video lectures. And how am I supposed to interact when we have one lecturer for 180 students?
And to make matters worse - there are rumours floating of 'Biometric Attendance' being brought into play. Why can't the faculty look at improving the basic amenities in the camps rather than concentrating their energies on 'disciplining' the students? The trust between the students and the faculty has vanished.
When it is a well-known fact that the doctors at B.C. Roy are irresponsible, why didn't any Professor take Rohit Kumar to Kolkata in his own car? Or if that wasn't possible, why didn't someone get the process of taking the ambulance out of the campus expedited. Why was no responsible person accompanying the students? Was a head injury the sole responsibility of two friends?
I shall be looking for answers.
We all should be.
2 comments
That's the same story everywhere. It's just that when something as tragic as this happens, people realize what a mess they are living in.
Here's my college's state:
People have been asked to go on their own to the medical center (a bit far away in the campus) even when they can hardly stand. NO faculty accompanies someone when he/she is being admitted to an outside hospital. Timings of medical center are too short.
From our campus, we have NO mode of transport unless we book a cab. To catch a bus, we need to cross the highway (no buses on the highway) and walk 1 km through a dirty slum like area and take a bus. Talk about transporting. :|
Food is something I won't comment about. Don't need to.
Faculty, well I've lost all hope. I don't WANT faculty & student interaction. Because the "attitude" of faculties is something that won't change. Ever. And administration is worse.
"It's a new campus. It'll take time" is the only thing I get to hear. In the 2 years, I've tried my best to do something. But guess what, I'm exhausted now. There seems no point to do so much. Why don't we just make projects, build a cv and leave this place? That's all I've been thinking now.
Sorry for being too specific to my college (BITS Pilani "Goa" Campus). Couldn't stop myself from commenting.
PS: These are my personal opinion. Don't judge our college by this! :D
Looks like every college has its problems. What I fail to understand most is the attitude of the administration and the faculty. Students will move on in life. The faculty & the staff are going to bear the brunt of the poor facilites.
And if their attitude remains the same, I doubt whether Kgp will find more Vinod Guptas who will be willing to spend their hard earned money for developing the campus.
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