The students at the IIT-Kharagpur are not aloof from the ongoing protests by their teachers over the pay hike.

Around 8,000 students at the institute’s campus are keenly watching the development and have their own opinion on the issue. The stir has resulted in making them aware of their teachers’ pay package, the criteria of the faculty selection and they have begun debating whether it would lead to dilution of academic standards.

“We were surprised to learn about the pay structure of our teachers. When a student completes an engineering course from the institute he is offered a salary around Rs 7 lakh per annum,” said a fourth year student of the institute.

“Our teachers who have so much knowledge should atleast get more than undergraduate students,” added the student.

The students have also voiced their opinion in the recent edition of The Scholar’s Avenue — a bi-monthly campus newspaper. In an article titled A Matter of Honour— The Faculty Stir that appeared in the campus newspaper, the students wrote that the stir was affecting them too. “Already, across IITs, thousands of students had to miss classes due to an emblematic yet unparalleled strike.

There are, however, certain sections of the student community fear that this token protest could easily snowball into a major controversy adversely impacting them,” the article stated.

The students, most of whom are emphatic about the teachers’ cause, say that they could sense the discontentment among their teachers.

“Soon a number of foreign universities will come up in the country. The pay packets there would be more lucrative. If the teachers are not content with what is offered here then there will be an exodus from these institutes,” said a student who is the editorial board of the newspaper. “We hope the Union Human Resource Development Ministry accept the demands of the teachers. When the ministry is setting up so many IITs across country they should think of maintaining a standard at these institutes,” said another student.

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