MUMBAI: Differentiating among graduates of the 15 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and offering them disparate salaries will no longer be permitted. Placement heads at the tech schools said companies recruiting students from IIT campuses must offer the same pay for the same job.
The decision is a shot in the arm for students of the new IITs-founded in 2008-who will queue up for placements for the first time in the December 2011 recruitment season. There are doubts about whether the institutes will be able to enforce the rule properly, given that they do not share hiring data.
But if the rule is adhered to, software companies and core engineering firms, which tend to create a hierarchy among the IITs, will be forced to maintain parity in compensation packages.
"We take students from the same pool-those who clear the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE)-and put them through a rigorous training programme at all the IITs. All placement heads feel there should not be any differentiation among graduates who are recruited on campus for the same kind of work; they should be paid the same salary," said Ravi Sinha, placement head, IIT Bombay.
Sceptics wonder if the recruitment cells are serious about the plan. That is because most placement heads have turned down the idea of a common placement process for all IIT students. "If the IIT a student passes out of ceases to matter, only then can the institutes have a common placement process," said a faculty member at IIT Kanpur. A placement officer said the idea was vetoed since gathering such a large number of students under one roof is not feasible.
The placement heads are also discussing the idea to set common user charges. Unlike the Indian Institutes of Management, the IITs do not levy a fee on companies which come to campus for recruitment. "But then we offer them several facilities such as video conferencing. We are planning to charge for these," Sinha said.
At present, there is no common ground between the IITs. In fact, the year-end recruitment process is akin to a tough competition among the institutes, which like boasting about parameters like the highest salary and the number of companies visiting the campus. Will the address of an IIT stop mattering? One can only wait and watch.
The decision is a shot in the arm for students of the new IITs-founded in 2008-who will queue up for placements for the first time in the December 2011 recruitment season. There are doubts about whether the institutes will be able to enforce the rule properly, given that they do not share hiring data.
But if the rule is adhered to, software companies and core engineering firms, which tend to create a hierarchy among the IITs, will be forced to maintain parity in compensation packages.
"We take students from the same pool-those who clear the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE)-and put them through a rigorous training programme at all the IITs. All placement heads feel there should not be any differentiation among graduates who are recruited on campus for the same kind of work; they should be paid the same salary," said Ravi Sinha, placement head, IIT Bombay.
Sceptics wonder if the recruitment cells are serious about the plan. That is because most placement heads have turned down the idea of a common placement process for all IIT students. "If the IIT a student passes out of ceases to matter, only then can the institutes have a common placement process," said a faculty member at IIT Kanpur. A placement officer said the idea was vetoed since gathering such a large number of students under one roof is not feasible.
The placement heads are also discussing the idea to set common user charges. Unlike the Indian Institutes of Management, the IITs do not levy a fee on companies which come to campus for recruitment. "But then we offer them several facilities such as video conferencing. We are planning to charge for these," Sinha said.
At present, there is no common ground between the IITs. In fact, the year-end recruitment process is akin to a tough competition among the institutes, which like boasting about parameters like the highest salary and the number of companies visiting the campus. Will the address of an IIT stop mattering? One can only wait and watch.
