In order to encourage the enrolment of female students into IIT and break the gender gap in the campus, a panel formed by Joint Admission Board (JAB) has suggested reservation for girl students.
It is learnt that the committee has suggested creation of up to 20 per cent supernumerary seats for girls from the total number of seats.
The recommendations made by the committee will be discussed in the meeting of the joint admission board (JAB) for a final conclusion. Here, it will be decided if the reservation will come in effect from this year or from the next.
The concern has been raised after the decline in the number of girl students entering IITs. The JAB has set up a sub-committee under the chairmanship of professor Timothy Gonsalves to find ways to rectify the situation in the institutes.
However, this will not affect the quality of students who join or number of seats for male candidates as only candidates who have already qualified in JEE-Advanced will be considered. Also, this move will help the IITs achieve the 1 lakh target by 2020.
In a bid to retain the current students and encourage other students to take up research and complete their higher studies, IIT is also planning to introduce an executive M.Tech course especially for working professionals.
This idea was discussed during the 155th meeting of IIT directors hosted by IIT-Kanpur in December 2016. The project is now being worked out by a committee has been formed comprising three IIT directors: Bombay, Hyderabad and Roorkee to work out the details of the project. The proposal will then be sent to the IIT council, the highest decision making body of the IITs, which is chaired by the HRD minister.
Executive MTech Course on Cards for IIT: Working Professionals to be Benefited