* overcrowded iisc
Posted on July 22nd, 2010 by Alex. Filed under IISc.
Last year more students got admitted to IISc than the capacity allowed. So the E-Block that was marked for demolition and partly F-Block got reactivated and some single rooms in those blocks got converted into double rooms. I even heard that the director said during the welcome ceremony that he was thankful that some students dropped out.
This year the situation is worse. The hostel administration booked even guest houses to accommodate the new students. However they still fall short of around 200 beds (150 boys, 50 girls). Again zero learn effect and always others are blamed. This time it is the government and its raised quota. However a quota is given in percentage. To explain the mathematical effect, I will give an example:
Let’s say, the current quota is 0% (i.e. non-existent) and 1000 students get admitted. Now a quota of 30% is introduced. So 700 students that do not belong to the quota and 300 students to whom the quota applies get admitted. But the number is the same. This would be too simple and would not raise the number of admissions in total which is the effect the institute is aiming for. However in a bucket that can hold 10 liters of water, no one would get even the idea to put 12 liters of water inside.
Now in the despair, the administration asks for volunteers who are willing to share their single room with a newly arriving student. If someone does so, his hostel rent of Rs.4000 is waived, but the guest pays double the original fee. So here no losses are made for the hostel office. In addition since an additional table, chair and/or cod is not provided, they expect the volunteer to share a single bed with an unknown person. Honestly, the cods are not king sized and not everybody is slim. Oh, choosing the candidate is also not an option, since the allotment is based on lottery. As an alternative, two seniors can share a room and the free room is then alloted to new students. If you do not believe it, what I am saying here, have a look at these notes from the notice board.
Honestly, who is willing to give up one of the last places where someone can have some privacy (the bathroom is the other place) for Rs.4000? So there are some questions that came up intro my mind:
- How will the situation improve over one semester only? How many students are expected to pass out? More than 200? The early batches are not THAT strong. So next year the situation worsens even more.
- Why do not the members of the faculty (allow the students to be admitted) nor the administration (allow the faculty to do so) take some of the new students into their big houses/apartments?
- I expect that tents will come up (already suggested) or that the 2 big rooms above the A and B messes get converted into dormitories. One for boys and one for girls. Rudimentary sinks and toilets are already available.
Welcome to IISc! See, not even arrived and already in trouble. Let’s have some tasty marshmallows grilled over a cosy camp fire, located between tents, and let’s sing some old country songs.
July 22nd, 2010 at 3:43 pm
Man..I feel pity..I dont know how much of your energy are you forced to spend negatively on matters like these. (driving license, water problems, being the others)..
I am sure you must be regretting your decision to come over..
Anyways, hope these experiences make you a tougher man
.Being able to live in any given conditions..
Rgds,
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jitu Reply:
July 23rd, 2010 at 2:42 am
Actually since I am not affected by this shortage of rooms nor does not anybody who I know here (yet), I do not regret anything. However I feel sorry for the new arrivals, because they have to suffer and they do not even know till they arrive. And it is not their fault either.
What I would like to show is that there is a huge communication gap/misunderstanding/lack of understanding among the students/faculty on one side and the administration on the other. Anyhow, I am always curious what new ideas come from the administration. It is always a surprise and most of the times entertaining (to be honest). However recently I started asking myself, if it is like this everywhere (e.g. in the IITs).
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Anon Reply:
May 16th, 2011 at 10:18 am
In the IIT-M new hostels, new students are assigned two to a room. The room is designed to hold one person.
I do believe that the IITs use a different system for quotas though. When a 30% quota is announced, the available positions are raised so that the the general admission group receives no fewer seats.
To use your example, it works like this: originally, there are 1000 seats. A quota of 30% is introduced. The seats are raised to 1000/0.7 = 1430 (roughly) so that non-quota seats are now roughly 1000.
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July 26th, 2010 at 10:41 am
hmm..i hope that these are temporary..i believe IISc is constructing new hostel wings..so once they take shape I guess things would be better..some sacrifice for a better future i suppose..
anyways..the lack of coordination is typical..as long as there is no accountability people wont put their mind to look at the whole problem holistically..
I am not sure but if you guys have some channels for feedback like meetings or discussion forums where the top managers in administration can interact with student/staff unions then I think you can keep them in the loop with what you think about their “ideas”..I am sure they wont take the feedback/suggestions from the best brains in the country lightly..
rgds
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jitu Reply:
July 27th, 2010 at 2:50 am
Yeah, currently there is a construction going on. Expected date of completion is in June 2011. In the end it is suppose to be a 7 floor building with lots of rooms. Let’s hope the best that the construction is sped up a bit (currently the 3rd floor is being constructed).
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July 30th, 2010 at 6:45 pm
Its shameful that Government is in such a hurry to implement Quota for Political Reasons that it doesn’t even cares if sufficient infrastructure is there or not.
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April 21st, 2011 at 5:05 pm
hello sir, i couldn’t find where to post my query so i am posting it here.
I have been offered internship at iisc this summer but no accommodation. I am on the look out for pgs/hostels near to iisc, preferably walkable distance.
It would be quite helpful if you could suggest some reliable contacts/address/links regarding this.
Please reply asap at my email id
thank you
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jitu Reply:
April 21st, 2011 at 7:27 pm
That is indeed a problem. A way out of this is to have a senior or junior currently studying in IISc and who is willing to accommodate you while you search for an apartment. There are some apartments available around IISc which are shared among project assistants. There are also some PGs available at 18th cross in Malleshwaram. If nothing works out: There are quite a few lodges available in Mathikere in which you can stay for the first few days till you found something. Phone numbers of lodges are given here: http://www.fell.it/2010/05/09/how-to-reach-iisc/
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May 16th, 2011 at 3:55 am
How is the admission quota relevant here?
Please enlighten me.
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jitu Reply:
May 16th, 2011 at 5:54 am
Sure, please read the post first. If you do not understand the example, I will be happy to explain it to you.
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Arn1 Reply:
May 19th, 2011 at 4:04 am
Oh I did get what your saying.What I’m asking is how is the admission quota to be blamed here?
The blunder has clearly been made by IISc.
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jitu Reply:
May 19th, 2011 at 6:48 am
Probably you mean the sentence “Again zero learn effect and always others are blamed. This time it is the government and its raised quota.”
I agree that if someone is to be blamed, it is the IISc administration not able to think about a solution for obvious upcoming problems (like the shortage of rooms). If they finally figured out that many students do not have a bed to sleep, they kept saying that it was not their fault and pointed the finger at someone/something else to defend themselves. In this case it was the “surprise” attack of the quota which the administration failed to see.
Although it is not the quotas fault that the administration was not able to react on time, the administration says so to divert from its own incapability. And that is exactly what the sentence cited above says.
Anyway the same situation will occur shortly again: Since BSc courses are offered from this August onwards, even more students will come. The new hostel is still under heavy construction, although it was announced to be ready by 16th of June this year. Let’s see, who the administration blames this time. Maybe the Bachelor students or even my grandma. Both do not have anything to do with these issues at all.
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