The inauguration of three new hostels at IIT Kharagpur has kindled hopes for the resumption of the institute’s PhD admissions.
The institute had last year suspended admissions to the PhD programmes because of lack of accommodation facilities on the residential campus.
The three hostels that were inaugurated on Tuesday can accommodate 500 students each. Two of them were girls’ hostels, named Savitri Bai Phule Halls of Residence, and one was a boys’ hostel, named Atal Bihari Vajpayee Hall of Residence.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the hostels virtually on Tuesday.
An IIT official said they were planning to house research scholars in the three new hostels, along with undergraduate and postgraduate students. The PhD admissions can resume from the autumn semester, which starts in July, the official said.
The IIT teachers’ association had last year written to the director expressing concern that the suspension of PhD admissions would affect the institute’s ranking.
“The addition of three hostels has improved the accommodation strength on the campus.... We are planning to earmark a certain percentage of the seats in the new hostels for PhD aspirants so admission of research scholars can be resumed at the earliest,” the official told The Telegraph.
Calls and text messages from this newspaper to the director of IIT Kharagpur, Virendra Kumar Tewari, failed to elicit any response.
This newspaper reported on October 15, 2023, that the IIT had issued a notice stating that the admission to PhD programmes for the spring semester 2023-24 “is suspended due to severe shortage of hostel accommodation for both male and female students”.
At IIT Kharagpur, admission to the PhD programme is held twice a year — July (autumn semester) and December (spring semester).
An IIT official said the construction of the three hostels had started four years ago. “Work got delayed because of some reasons. Now that the facilities are ready, we are looking forward to the resumption of PhD admissions,” he said. “A few more hostels are being built.”
At the IIT, students are now accommodated in 22 hostels —14 for men, six for women and two for research scholars who stay with their families. The researchers who stay alone are allotted berths in the other 20 hostels.
The IIT had in December resumed enrolment of PhD scholars working in funded projects and not in need of accommodation on the campus.
The IIT Kharagpur Teachers’ Association had in November last year written to the director seeking an immediate meeting to discuss the suspension of PhD admissions and raising concerns that it “would have an effect on the ranking of the institute and the IOE (Institute of Eminence) mandate”.
A member of the association said: “The IIT should take all steps so PhD admissions can resume from the semester that starts in July.”
