Some time back news had come that the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry, worried over the low ratio of girl students in IIT has set a target of achieving 20% female students by 2020-2021. This will be done in a phased manner as per earlier reports. In 2018 the addition will be 14%, in 2019 17% and in 2020 it will be 20%.
The ministry has come up with a four-pronged formula to increase the ratio of girl students in IITs from the current 8% to 20% by 2020-2021.
The plans include getting IITs to identify meritorious girls from class VIII in their respective catchment areas and coaching and counselling them as well as their parents.
The ministry also wants IITs to bring some of these students to their campuses and give them a feel of the real thing. “The idea is to identify some of the more promising students and get them hooked on to the idea of studying in an IIT,“ a faculty member privy to the developments said. “We want to catch these girls young,“ he added.
Read more of this in a report by Somdatta Basu in Times of India....
