New Delhi: Accreditation of IITs, student mental health and wellness, reducing coaching dependency in JEE (Advanced), and enhancing scholarships and pocket allowances for SC,ST students are among the key issues to be discussed at the IIT Council meeting scheduled Monday after a gap of over two years.
The IIT Council, which is the apex coordination body of all the 23 premier engineering institutes, last held its 55th meeting in April 2023.
According to sources, the accreditation of premier engineering institutes is set to be discussed during Monday’s meeting in Delhi.
In May 2023, the Radhakrishnan Committee—constituted to suggest measures for strengthening the assessment and accreditation of higher education institutions (HEIs)—recommended that the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) be brought under the ambit of the national accreditation and assessment framework proposed in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The IITs follow their internal systems for periodic peer evaluation and assessment of programmes, while other HEIs are assessed and accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). To be sure, the panel does not propose bringing IITs under the current NAAC, but under a body called the National Accreditation Council (NAC) envisaged by NEP 2020, which is yet to be formed.
The Council is also expected to discuss measures for mental health and wellness, enhancement of merit-cum-means scholarship and pocket allowance for SC/ST students, and initiatives to overcome language barriers through regional languages, sources told ThePrint.
In this year itself, several cases of students suicides have been reported across IITs. IIT Bombay reported a suicide in August, and IIT Kanpur had one in February involving a PhD scholar. IIT Kharagpur reported four cases, including in April and May, so far.
The Council will also discuss the effective implementation of the reservation policy in faculty recruitment and explore the possibility of introducing a sports quota in admissions.
In 2024, IIT Madras became the first and, so far, the only IIT to introduce a sports quota for undergraduate admissions.
Another key issue to be discussed is the implementation of the National Credit Framework (NCrF) in IITs—a system designed to standardise and facilitate the transfer of academic credits across institutions under NEP 2020.
The Council will also focus on credit sharing among the 23 IITs within the NCrF framework, along with establishing an intensive and outcome-oriented peer review process in IITs. The IITs presently don’t follow NCrF system.
Besides, the IITs will also discuss necessary changes in curriculum, pedagogy, and assessments in response to the advent of Artificial Intelligence, people familiar with the agenda told ThePrint.
Meanwhile, the IITs can also discuss measures to support international students in internship programs and address issues related to foreign faculty. The lack of foreign students and faculty is a key area where IITs lag in international rankings such as the QS rankings.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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