An illusion of knowledge capital

The potential scarcity of knowledge workers in the country is an issue that has received much attention both in the media and amongst decision-makers. But a bigger problem that looms larger immediately is the scarcity of quality faculty.

According to a study done by McKinsey & Co for the Task Force on HRD in IT, it is estimated that the shortfall could be in the range of 4,500 faculty members. Now consider these figures: the total number of technology professionals in the industry today stands at 300,000. This number is expected to swell to eight lakh by 2005 and to 2.2 million by 2008 if we are to achieve our target of $ 87 billion during the same period. Thus by 2005, we can potentially have a shortfall of 500,000 professionals. "What's more, these are conservative figures and do not take into account the shortfall that can arise due to attrition or migration," says Vipul Tuli, Principal, McKinsey and Co. Today, the country produces approximately 55,000 engineers annually (excluding MCAs and graduates from private institutes). 

To meet the projected figure of the industry's requirement, we need to at least triple the scale of output from the IITs, IIITs, RECs, and the top 50 engineering colleges. To that extent we would require a faculty workforce of 9,000, the availability of which is expected to be 4,500 and the expected shortfall would be 4,500. The expected availability is based on the number of people who register for post-graduate and PhD programs. 

The crux of the problem 

A couple of things need to be put in perspective to understand the problem. About 60 percent of the post-graduate students are from the IITs and IISc. This is because other institutes do not have the infrastructure to support higher technical education. 

Second and a more serious issue is that academics is no longer an attractive proposition for bright engineering graduates from these premier institutes. According to McKinsey, in a typical IIT, 30 percent of the faculty representing the senior-most faculty members would be retiring in the next five years. A more worrying trend is that faculty members below the age of 35 would not be more than 15 in a typical IIT scenario-an indication that there are less and less youngsters opting for teaching. If we were to put the faculty members in a typical IIT in an age pyramid, it would look like this: Below 35 years: 15; between 35-45 years: 105; between 45-55 years: 135; and above 55 years: 115. 

The age pyramid may not give us an entirely accurate picture if we analyze the issue from another perspective. Most IITs were established between 1955-65 during which the bulk of the faculty was taken and therefore most of the teachers are in the higher age bracket. Nonetheless, it is a fact that monetarily gains in the industry are so substantial that it is not difficult to comprehend why academics is a poor choice amongst youngsters today. Consider the difference in the salary package between what a 22-year old graduate takes home and a 50-year-old professor. While a fresh graduate from IIT could earn anywhere between Rs 5-6 lakh per annum in the industry a professor at IIT would earn around Rs 3 lakh per annum after years of service. Add to it the change in socio-cultural values wherein academics no longer occupy the pride of place among the choice in careers. 

However, avers established academicians who say that money is not everything and there are other intangible benefits that go into academics like a stable lifestyle, excellent accommodation and a conducive environment to raise children. Obviously the younger lot does not think that way! 

As a result, over the past decade the quality of students who opt for higher studies has seen a sharp decline--a fact corroborated by Dr RS Sirohi, Director, IIT Delhi. "Unfortunately, the quality of students who register for post graduate courses are not of high standard which in the long run can have an adverse impact on the quality of students that we produce."

This is beginning to reflect in the quality of work that is undertaken at the Institutes. According to the McKinsey study during the period 1993-98, while a typical IIT faculty was cited only 2-3 times in international journals, an MIT engineering faculty was quoted 45 times and a Stanford University faculty member was cited 52 times during the period. Or for that matter, a typical IIT has only 3-6 patents to its credit while MIT has 102 patents and Standford has 64 patents to its credit. Defends Dr Sirohi, "It is not that our faculty here are not doing quality work. But there is definitely a lack of awareness about patents amongst faculty. However we now hold educative sessions about patents so there should be an improvement in figures." 

The under-performance can be directly attributed to the amount of fund available to institutes. Comparing the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) of institutes in India with universities abroad, IITs in India have Rs 80 crore annually as against Rs 400 crore for Stanford University and the University of Berkley, California, and Rs 200 crore for Seoul University. Further the research grant available (on the PPP) to a faculty here is Rs 15 lakh per year as against Rs 110 lakh to an academician in MIT and Rs 100 lakh to a academician in Stanford University. 

(to be continued)

Source: Balaka Baruah Aggarwal (CNS)