A survey conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay’s (IIT-B) newspaper Insight for freshmen students has revealed that preparing for the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) can have an adverse eff
A survey conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay’s (IIT-B) newspaper Insight for freshmen students has revealed that preparing for the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) can have an adverse effect on the personal lives of aspirants and it is reflected in their activities after they secure admission into the institute. Around 64.4 per cent of the students surveyed said that their creative side has been affected due to JEE preparation, while 54.7 per cent said they had a burn-out after the two-year preparation. More than 55 per cent of the students also said that JEE preparations affected their social life. Nearly 95 per cent were still virgins.
According to Abhijit Tomar, a member of the Insight team, the survey was influenced by the Harvard Crimson freshmen survey and was conducted for the first time on the batch that took admission in 2015. “It was an online survey and around 250 out of the 800 students responded. The survey has thrown up interesting facts about the aspirations and sacrifices made by students and can be a guide for students aspiring to get into an IIT,” said Mr Tomar, who is currently doing his internship with Microsoft at Hyderabad.
The survey is detailed and dwells on different aspects like demographics and legacy, expectations, admission and preparations, IIT Bombay, academics and beliefs, preferences and life style.
The demographics section shows that while a large number of students (268) are from Maharashtra, around 180 are from Rajasthan followed by Madhya Pradesh (100) and Telangana (71). “It is surprising to see such a large number of students coming from Rajasthan while they could have easily opted for IIT-Delhi which is closer to their home,” said Tomar.
The survey also shows that only 26 per cent students belong to a family with an IITian while 40.3 per cent belong to families with an annual income of Rs 4-10 lakh.
Only 5.8 per cent of the students belong to the below Rs 2 lakh category.
Throwing light on the time dedicated by students for JEE, Mr Tomar said that 162 out of the 249 students who responded spent 4-7 hours or less than 4 hours per day for preparations.
“The survey shows that studying long hours does not necessarily guarantee admission to an IIT as only 87 students who studied for more than 7 hours secured admission here,” said Mr Tomar.
With regards to relationships, 70.3 per cent students said they were not into one and 92.7 per cent said they were heterosexual but 75.9 per cent said they were comfortable with homosexuality and marriages among them. On the question of virginity only 4.9 per cent said they had lost their virginity before coming to the IIT.
