Ramesh pulls up IITs, IIMs, draws opposition flak

India?s outspoken Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh hit out at the premier state institutions of management and engineering, saying they are not ?not world class?, a comment that drew him raps from the Opposition on Tuesday.

An Indian Institue of Technology (IIT) Mumbai graduate from where he obtained his B.Tech degree in Mechanical Engineering, the Minister drubbed IITs and also the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) over the quality of faculty and research.

?There is hardly any worthwhile research from our IITs. The faculty in the IIT is not world class. It is the students in IITs who are world class. So the IITs and IIMs are excellent because of the quality of students not because of quality of research or faculty,? Ramesh said.

The fiery statements however faced much ire from the India?s main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and even the faculty from the top institutions who said the minister, known as a bit of a maverick, had crossed his line this time.

?We cannot have world-class institutions unless we have world-class ministers…Ministers should refrain from making such statements,? said BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy, asserting that the country was proud of its institutions.

Professor Anil Gupta, a faculty member at IIM Ahmedabad too hit back at the Minister. ?A good artisan doesn’t not blame his tools. He (Jairam Ramesh) has crossed the limits. I think its a challenge to teach students who are sharp and bright,? he said,

?Some of our best research institutions are government-run. He should not berate these institutions but rather look towards making them even more effective,? he was quoted as saying.

Even though revered and ranked highly in India, IITs and IIMs do not usually find themselves in the top college charts worldwide.

While IIT Bombay made it to number 163 on The Times Higher Education Supplement ranking until 2009, none of the IITs are listed in the 2010 top 200 ranking for colleges or any of its sub rankings.

Ramesh triggered the debate on Monday, speaking on the sidelines of a function in New Delhi, as he defended his Ministry?s decision to set up a National Centre for Marine Biodiversity in Jamnagar, Gujarat in collaboration with one India?s largest conglomerates Reliance Industries Limited (RIL).

?We cannot build a world class research centre in a governmental set up. The governmental set up can never attract young people. Never. Let us understand our experience in the last 60 years.

?So we want to think differently. We have to think differently, how we are going to organise our research institutions. And this is one way of building PPP (public-private partnership),? Ramesh said.

?So I have been to Jamnagar and we are in a PPP mode. We are having a joint venture with Reliance to set up a world class national centre for marine biodiversity,? the minister said, adding that the institute would focus exclusively on the conservation of marine biodiversity.

Even though controversial and facing the anger of the Opposition, Ramesh?s words were backed by his cabinet colleague India?s Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal. ?He (Jairam Ramesh) is himself an IITian. He might be having inside knowledge,? Sibal said.

?Even otherwise…do we have world-class institutions? As Education Minister, I am striving towards achieving world-class standards for our institutions. This is a fact that our institutions don’t figure in the top 150 list,? said Sibal.