IITs may take credit for being the finest technical institutions in the country but Vice President Hamid Ansari today rued that they are yet to be recognised among the 100 best institutes world-wide.
He said the institutes fare poorly in terms of international grading of academic output based on publication, patents applied for and granted and faculty citation.
"No Indian university, not even an IIT, figures in the top 100 of Shanghai Jiao Tong University Institute's academic ranking of world universities or in top 100 of the 2009 Times Higher Education world university rankings," he said while delivering an address at the 41st convocation of IIT-Delhi.
He also expressed concern over IIT passouts gradually shying away from research work saying, "Less than 15 per cent of those graduating from IITs move towards teaching or research, whether in India or abroad." "We need in the first place to focus on accessible learning, affordable learning, and applicable learning. We need to close the gap between policy intent and actual delivery," the Vice President said.
Chairman of Board of Governors of IIT-Delhi R P Agrawal said that while the HRD Ministry have initiated a "bouquet" of measures to attract the best students to teaching profession, the society at large has to play a big role in restoring the status attached to the teaching profession. "Teacher first should become our national slogan.
The society has to restore the traditional status and prestige as used to be attached to the teaching profession," he said.
1,371 students were awarded degrees at the convocation, including over 100 who were given doctorate degrees.The Vice President also honoured eminent nuclear scientist Anil Kakodkar with the "Degree of Doctor of Science" for his contribution in the area of research and development of nuclear reactors.
Group Director-IT of Bharati Enterprises Jai Menon, a product of IIT-Delhi, was conferred the "Distinguished Alumni Award" by Ansari for his contribution as a corporate leader and researcher.