Student Freedom at IITs vs Other Premier Indian Colleges

You have been preparing hard for JEE and you often wonder what your life at IITs would be like. Would you emerge as a gaming champion of the century? Do students really sneak up to the roof of the main building for your nocturnal drink sessions (as Chetan Bhagat portrayed in his infamous book ‘Five Point Someone’ said to be based on his IIT experiences)? Do students of other prominent engineering colleges or other premier institutes of India really have the freedom to do whatever they want?

Here is your guide to how some of the IITs and other well-known Indian colleges pan out to the issues related to freedom of students:

 

Rule	IIT-B	IIT-K	BITS-Goa	SRCC, Delhi	IIM-B
LAN  or Internet Ban	1:30 am to 5 am on both LAN and Internet	LAN Ban: 12 in the midnight to 6 am in the morning Internet Ban: None	LAN Ban: None Internet Ban: 50MB/day download limit	They do not have LAN or internet	None
Is Alcohol allowed?	No	No	No	No, but not strictly implemented	No, but not strictly implemented
Curfew Time	No but you do have to sign in after 12 am (midnight)	None	Yes, starts at 10:30 pm	Yes, starts at: 7 pm for girls; and 11 pm for guys	None
Hostel Entry for member of opposite sex	Till 10 pm	Till 12 am	Not allowed	You can’t even interact with opposite sex without inviting social criticism	Anytime
Campus Entry for Guests	Till 11 pm without permission and with prior permission after that	Till 12 in the midnight	–	–	Till 5:30 pm without permission and with prior permission after that
Campus Entry for Alumni	Till 11 pm	Alumni can visit the campus anytime but are not allowed to enter the hostels	–	–	Anytime
Private vehicles	No	No	No, not even cycles	–	Yes

“Till a few years ago, there was no ban on LAN and Internet in the IIT Bombay campus. In November 2005, a student committed suicide because he failed due to his social media and gaming addiction. To wean off such nocturnal gamers and networking wizards, the college decided to impose a partial ban on LAN and Internet from 12 in the midnight to 7 in the morning.

In 2012, the LAN Ban committee reduced it to the current timings of 1:30 am to 5 am. Many students who actually want to use Internet for their research work or academic pursuits find the ban troublesome. The committee needs to meet again and discuss the impact and necessity of such a ban”, says Pulak Vajpayee – an IITB alumnus.

What do you want to know about campus life at IITs? Mail us your questions at blog@askiitians.com.