The Scholars' Avenue

The stalwart of the Department of Electrical Engineering, Professor T K Basu retired recently leaving behind a rich legacy from his time here at Kgp, first as a student and then as a professor. Professor Basu also taught at IIT Bombay and later served as the head of the Center of Educational Technology which was instrumental in developing the video courses for Kgp students. Now busy in another professional sphere at Kolkata, The Scholars’ Avenue managed to catch up with Prof. Basu on his farewell visit to the Institute, unearthing some candid moments and a lot of nostalgia.

TSA: As is well known, your association with Kharagpur goes right back to your student days; what memories do you have of that time?

TKB: I was a student at IIT Kharagpur from 1963-70 and was a boarder of the Patel and JCB halls of residence. I was the Mess Secretary at Patel for two years at a time just before the Green Revolution when there was acute scarcity of food in India.

Kharagpur shaped me as an individual and helped me build my confidence. I remember those used to be highly taxing days with 37 periods over five and a half days. We had NCC after 4:30 three days a week for two hours and would hardly get any rest. We had a lot of submissions especially drawing, workshop PT files and very extensive practicals. We had both open and closed book exams in a trimester system. I remember having 12 papers in my third year.

Apart from self-confidence, I gained exposure to different cultures, languages and personalities. Kharagpur in a way is mini-India. You start noting your limitations, not only in your personality, but in your culture and daily habits, unlike in a closed society. I now miss the competitions that the Gymkhana used to have in all languages. Even with three competitors, there used to be inter-hall and open IIT elocution and music competitions in languages like Punjabi and Malayalam. We had dramatics and debate competitions as well.

Nowadays the semester is very tight; students don’t have any time to think, to socialize, to participate in games & sports and cultural activities. I think the semesters should be longer. There should be more holidays during the semester. Students should be encouraged to take up different activities like trekking. The best period on campus is the winter time. We never had a winter break. Brigadier Bose started the winter sports trend in the ‘70s when he was the Director of the institute. That period then used to be full of sports and games.

TSA: What were your hobbies and extra-academic pursuits?

TKB: I was into cards. I represented Patel Hall in Bridge competitions. After joining the department in 1980, I took charge of the department society and introduced Bridge competition between the faculty and the students. I looked at this as a platform to break barriers between the students and the teachers, an activity that both parties enjoyed.

TSA: Any negatives that you witnessed during your student days?

TKB: I managed to stay away from the negative things going on around me. Even today, I am against ragging. In those days, ragging used to be partly interesting. There was more discipline and discretion that is not there today. Now ragging has become very vulgar and aggressive. India was yet to benefit from the impending green revolution; the food was of very poor quality.

On a relevant note, I’ve noted that the students have become more indifferent to what’s going on around them over the years. Even the teachers are less interested in student affairs now. Of course, the classrooms weren’t as large then. There should be more platforms for interaction. Instead of having a compressed semester followed by long breaks, have longer working periods with different activities to engage teachers, their families and students together.

TSA: Back in our October 2007 Issue, Prof S K Som, in his interview as the new Dean of Academic Affairs opined,

“Personally, I feel that the academic performance is not as good as it should be, especially for the Undergraduate students. This could possibly be due to loss of interest and motivation after stepping into IIT. This problem has increased in recent times. I have been here for a long time. The love for academics that was seen in students earlier is seen in very few students now.

Do you agree that the love of academics that was seen in many students earlier is seen in very few students now? It is often noted by teachers that a large section of students at IITs who are academically inclined eventually lose their interest for a plethora of reasons. How do you think the Institute and the faculty can address this issue?

TKB: This is not the fault of the students alone. The students’ aspirations are moulded by their parents. Now a student comes to IIT to get a rubber stamp and get a better job, not to become a good academician. Many students aim to go abroad and earn more money. These aspirations have been moulded by the schools, by the parents, by the society. Even then I feel that IIT still attracts a bright section of students who are committed to academics. IIT students should not be cut out for run-off-the mill jobs. Working for money does not live up to your potential.

Now that I am out of IIT, I can concede that it’s not only the students who have grown to show less inclination towards academics. The faculty is also responsible. The faculty should take more care when they are teaching. On the other hand, if the faculty member has to publish papers for promotion and bring forward projects, it becomes a distraction from the main job of teaching. This is not the faculty’s fault; rather this is the fault of the system that has been created from the top which the faculty is constrained to follow. I’m not saying that these things are not necessary, but none of these should serve as a substitute for teaching. Teaching is primary.

It is also very important to keep the students motivated as they study. I find that the conventional timetable schedule system of taking classes should be broken. Appoint a few more teachers. Research scholars and M.Tech students should be trained to teach. Pick a few good students early and interest them in teaching. At the same time, let them go on to improve their academic qualifications. Nowadays we want readymade teachers! Bright students go away to other foreign universities or for jobs; only a few of the middle-rankers come for MTechs and only  a few genuinely motivated come for PhDs, who too join jobs on completion. Motivation has to be created at a very early age. It’s a wrong selection process that you want people of a very high standard, but you don’t give them time to grow.

TSA: What are the positive changes that you’ve observed in the students over the years?

TKB: Students are now much more informed. And the fact that IITs are still attracting bright students is heartening indeed.

TSA: What is your view on the steady loss of our students to other countries?

TKB: Jawaharlal Nehru once said, “The IITians are the entrepreneurs of modern India who will build the country”. You must realise your potential. One of our Outstanding Alumnus awardees: Mr. R N Khanna (Electrical Engineering ’61) left his cosy job at Siemens, Germany to set up a small factory in the garage in his backyard. This establishment is now one of the largest power equipment companies in Noida. Even today, I don’t think India is getting much in return for the education. I believe that if public money is going into their education, the students of IIT must serve the state for at least five years, preferably in the public sector. Except for higher studies, nobody should be permitted to go anywhere without compulsory service.

TSA: As the head of Centre of Educational Technology, you have seen Indian Education system from close quarters. Mr. Kabil Sibal has plans to liberalize the current university and school system. What’s your take on such a drastic change?

TKB: I don’t support the privatization of education at all. I support the idea of education totally nationalized. Develop a uniform syllabus and therefore, a uniform education for all. Education should be for everyone- rich and poor, free of cost. Why should anybody be deprived of primary schooling. Don’t you feel the small kid serving tea and washing dishes in Tikka’s deserves as much education as you did? Every child should have a childhood. There should not be any sort of discrimination.

I’m in favour of an Open-IIT system- an open education system. Why should there be restricted education. After all, IIT is meant for the country; it is the country’s asset. Even in MIT, they have a system for taking in some general students. JEE has caused a lot of damage to the IIT system. With such a large student population and a limited number of seats, the competition becomes very dirty and breaks all kind of ethics, and that is reflected in professional lives of students later on. It’s not necessary that you must have an IIT degree to be successful. How many entrepreneurs have an engineering degree? When I was the co-ordinator of the IIT-Kharagpur- NUS student exchange programme, I went to Singapore and found that two drop-outs who turned entrepreneurs were among the largest employers on campus.

I believe that outstanding students should be free from other subject requirements so that they can pursue their interests with dedication. I am in favour of special topic subjects in the final year, if electives are being offered. Give a chance to the students to learn on their own and be tested accordingly.We lack the flexibility of the Russian and American systems. We can have a different kind of assessment mechanism. I’m not in favour of a regular routine kind of examination system. There should be some subjects where there should be more of flexibility. I fully agree with Kapil Sibal’s initiative to not have any Board examinations in class X. I am usually in the minority when I campaign for no exams. People laugh at me, though students like me! No examination does not mean no assessment. By no examination, I mean no conventional examination. Kabil Sibal does not say that there will be no evaluation. You can have evaluation on a day to day basis.

I believe that the best system is that when I teach, I should be the absolute evaluator. Why should a third party come and judge my students? It is the teacher’s responsibility to ensure the quality and the student’s responsibility to ensure that he can defend whatever his teacher has taught him. The system of having an invigilator during the examination is bad. When there is an exam at CET, there is no teacher in the class. I believe that way a student realizes that it is his responsibility as well and the desire to copy diminishes. Make at least 50% of the examinations open-book exams. The tendency to cheat will go. Moreover this will ensure that the students are more thorough with their course material. I have been getting a very strong moral support in my approach to the various issues of teaching and learning by my senior colleague Prof. A.K.Ray of CET and also by Prof. A.K.Ray of ECE deptt.(currently VC of BESU, Shibpur)

TSA: What is your opinion on students taking up alternative career paths?

TKB: I am not against different career paths. For instance, as an electrical engineer, I myself wouldn’t mind taking up some aspects of finance modelling as the skill set required is similar though ends may be different. I believe that technical people are required from time to time in every line of work. Sometimes, they are better suited to understand and appreciate various problems. Technical people are required today in various walks of administration.

TSA: Do you think that the IIT faculty was justified in protesting against the pay scales?

TKB: I don’t really want to comment on this. But the fact that the Government has set different standards for other Universities is somewhat insulting to the IIT faculty. Whatever scale the Government suggests should be consistent. On the other hand, the Government spending on infrastructure and other facilities in IITs is good enough in itself.

I was initially at NIT Kurukshetra and later at IIT Bombay- the pay scales were the same. There was hardly any difference in the scales everywhere. In 1991, the post of Associate Professor was created. I would personally say that being in an IIT is good enough. IIT professors should not get any special scale. But again, there is a strong lobby of bureaucrats who are against teachers. This is something that I don’t like.

TSA: Where are you now heading?

TKB: I’ve already joined Aliah University, which is the latest university set up by the Government of West Bengal. This is a university that focuses on the education of minorities. I’m joining as the Dean of Science and Engineering. There is no separate college presently. This is an institute modelled on the principles of our IIT system. I believe that students should be employable once they pass out- education should generate jobs. The IIT model is saleable. However there are some changes that should be incorporated in the education model even in the IITs. First and foremost, current examination systems should be smashed. If a student fails, it’s the failure of the teacher also as he has not been able to inspire the student to study. When I fail a student, I feel restless: I try to help the student. But everybody cannot be passed. You must call the student, point out his weaknesses and try to help him out. The students should be counselled properly. I believe that the teachers are the best counsellors. We plan to incorporate some of these changes in our system at Aliah University.

TSA: Speaking of counselling, is it not disturbing that there have been several student suicides in Kharagpur over the past few months?

TKB: Parents should understand that not everyone can be an engineer or a doctor. Everyone should simply aim to be good citizens of the country. Different jobs require different people. Indeed, we have a much skewed education model. We have several engineering colleges with no teachers and seats going vacant. As far as the situation in IIT goes, I think the students need more counselling at the first year level. Learning should not be a burden- there should be joy in learning. The generation gap that has come up of late also needs to be dealt with.

About the counselling centre that has been set up recently, I don’t know how professional the counsellors are. In fact, I believe, if you are good at heart, you do not need any external counsellors. I remember the time when I successfully counselled a group of drug addicts, especially a couple of tough cases. All that was needed was a little special care. Their improvement was truly extraordinary, proving that in life, even the last person can never be written off. I have faith in all my students. If someone is a liability, it’s because he was made one.

TSA: What’s your take on the issue of reservation?

TKB: For several years, a large section of the population was suppressed and therefore provided with reservation to aid in their uplift .There will definitely be a decrease in the overall quality, but I think it is necessary. But I believe there should be a check as well; benefits should not be passed on from generation to generation. This facility is a matter of self-respect and should be used as a last resort for uplift. The problem of reservation can easily be countered with some sympathy and practical outlook. After all, social injustice should not be tolerated.

TSA: Any final message to the students of this institute?

TKB: I would like to tell all the IIT students to have more of creative activities on campus. Insist on more holidays and longer semesters so that you can participate in such activities. These are an essential part of life. Extra Academic Activities should be made compulsory for all the 5 years. You professional life requires team spirit which comes with working together and playing games. I wish you all the best.