Plan to add more seats, but IITs say no infrastructure
What's the story
The Joint Admission Board (JAB) has proposed adding an additional 1,000 seats in IITs across the country, but several IITs doubt that existing campuses can accommodate more students.
In October last year, the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) said that these additional seats would mostly be added through new IITs.
IITs fear that more students intake would strain the infrastructure.
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MHRD had suggested increasing seats allotted to women
In 2017, the MHRD had suggested a 14% hike in seats allotted to women to the Joint Admission Board. The hike would take the total number seats for women to 1,440. Women currently comprise a mere 8% of the total student strength of all IITs.
Intake capacity
But, IIT-Bombay and IIT-Madras have concrete expansion plans in place
Although IIT-Bombay started a new course last year and increased its undergraduate intake by 30, it has no such plans this year it said.
Over the next few years, the institute will have the capacity to accommodate 8,000 students above its current capacity of 10,400.
IIT-Madras will also start work on a new hostel in March.
There's no other confirmed news of expansion yet.
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New IITs already struggling to provide accommodation to students
"While the JAB has been inching towards increasing the intake capacity, most of the burden will have to be shared by the newer IITs and they are already struggling to provide accommodation, laboratories and classrooms," said a senior IIT-Delhi faculty member on conditions of anonymity.
Seat vacancy
IIT seats lie vacant amid plans to increase seats
Despite plans to increase the number of IIT seats, a recent point of worry has been the growing number of vacant seats in IITs.
In 2017, 121 seats were left vacant after seven rounds of counselling across 23 IITs, up from 96 in 2016, and 50 in 2015.
Consequently, the MHRD has instructed IITs to find solutions, including the option of scrapping unpopular courses.