A question of subsidy

Anjana

An online debate on whether the government should provide subsidy to the IITs has taken the social media by storm. The debate started with an open letter to the Minister for Human Resources Development, Smriti Irani, from a contributor on Scroll asking why IITians should be provided subsidy when they go on to join different fields from what they have specialised in. He also argued that very few IITians join government organisations like ISRO, DRDO and the Indian army. The writer suggested that the students can avail loans instead of seeking a subsidy and pay it off when they get placed. The post received several replies both for and against the arguments. Some students express their views.

Sanjana Gautham, B.A. Journalism, MOP Vaishnav College for Women, Chennai

Such an issue requires more than just a cursory glance and it isn’t easy to define what is right and wrong. True, it can be frustrating to think about IITians paying subsidised fees and earning substantial salaries, but to imply that their degrees are useless because they aren’t pursuing those particular fields is stretching it a little too far.

Anjana Shekar, M.A. Communication, Women's Christian College, Chennai

Investing in the education of aspiring young minds is bound to reap results. But can the subsidy given to them be rationalised? Can they do with a lesser percentage of subsidies? Yes! From a student’s perspective, slashing subsidies might look like a hard decision. But if the government were to restructure its subsidy plans and choose candidates more prudently, it might do a lot more good. The focus should be on providing subsidies to students from economically weak backgrounds.

Schillaci Solomon, B.Com., Modern College, Mumbai

I totally agree with the arguments. Many IITians today have enough to support themselves and land fat pay checks. The government should at least reduce the subsidy and use it to support other colleges which cater to underprivileged students.

K. Ghousiya Sultana, Ph.D. English Literature, Madras University

A single university in the U.S., like the MIT, gets 10 times more funding than all IITs combined. But no one cribs about it there. Education as a field should be on the priority list. Creating educated minds is a good way to spend tax payers’ money. Let's not see it as subsidies to the IITians, but more as a benefit to the smartest minds of our country.