The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has introduced a new grading system for its research programmes where students will be graded, apart from the regular course grading on their performance, and they too could, in turn, give feedback on their supervisors. The new set of guidelines released by the institute has prompted protests by several scholars who say the rules may allow “undue supremacy to guides”. The dispute comes against the backdrop of the recent suicide of a research scholar, who was found to have been “targeted” by his guide by the institute’s own inquiry panel.
The decision on the new guidelines was taken by the institute’s senate — the highest decision-making body of an IIT for all academic purposes — during its 305th meeting on January 15. All permanent teachers at the institute are members of this body.
A communication sent to students on the new rules says, “Following the decision of the 305th meeting of the Senate, all MS and PhD students are required to register for research credits for the duration they are in the programme. This is a 60 credits course… based on the senate-mandated 60-hours work/week for a 14-week period. At the end of the appropriate period …the main guide will assign a letter grade to the students’ performance during the period. Likewise, the student will also have an opportunity to fill in the teacher-course feedback form.”
Around 200 students held a demonstration demanding the new MS-PhD guidelines be rolled back apart from raising several other issues on campus on January 17. “The new rules allow even more authority to the guides. This is not a usual scholar grading. Even though it allows students to also give feedback on the respective guide, it has raised concerns among students since it can still be misused by the supervisors. During the protest, the director (of IIT-Madras) came to address us and said that the grading system is just to assess the relationship between the guide and the scholar,” said a research scholar.
In the wake of the new rules, students have been citing the suicide of Sachin Kumar Jain, a research scholar who ended his life on March 31 last year. A panel set up by the institute to inquire into Jain’s death found his research supervisor “responsible” for the extreme step in a report that was submitted in November. Based on the panel’s report, the professor was suspended from the institute.
The new guidelines also state that the grades obtained for the research-credit courses will not be used for the Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) computation, which translates to the total of all credit points used to assess the overall academic performance of a student.
An IIT Madras spokesperson responding to News18’s query on the new guidelines said that the intention is to identify and address issues to ensure smooth progress in research. “Some students expressed concerns and we will be addressing them. All steps taken are intended to ensure the welfare of the students,” the spokesperson said.
The new system allows supervisors to letter grade students on different broad parameters, including: student not working to his ability, performing way below expectations, submitting journal as primary author, not working or coming to the department regularly, etc.
“The grades are just an easy way to gather information and are not to be interpreted as they are for a regular course. Two Cs in a row will automatically trigger a doctoral committee (DC) meeting, and so will a single D, E, and U,” the communication read.
At the end of the semester, students will be asked to fill in course feedback regarding research guidance. “This feedback form will be different from the feedback form we have for regular courses. The feedback for these courses will only be available to the Head of the Department, Dean (Academic Research) and the Director,” the communication stated.
The protesting students said that research scholars are already facing many problems regarding the “supremacy of the guides”. “Now new rules have been framed to give extra power to the guides so that they can officially harass the students. There were many cases like Sachin Kumar Jain where students were targeted by guides,” said another scholar.
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