Ex-IIT Delhi Director Backs Doolla, Proposes Five-Year BTech

A former director of IIT Delhi has come out in support of IIT Bombay professor Suryanarayana Doolla, who is at the centre of a controversy following a student's death and an alleged examination malpractice case.

V Ramgopal Rao, who now serves as Vice Chancellor of BITS Pilani, said he knows Prof Doolla personally and is disturbed to see him being vilified. In a note shared on social media, Rao described him as one of the finest faculty members in the IIT system and a gentleman of the highest integrity. He added that any concerns raised should be examined fairly, and that a public campaign against an individual serves no one.

Prof Doolla, a faculty member in the Department of Energy Science and Engineering at IIT Bombay, was suspended from his role as Dean Students Welfare on September 21. The action followed the death by suicide of second-year student Sahil Wakode on September 18. Doolla had reportedly observed a student using a mobile phone to upload a question paper to an AI platform during an examination.

The IIT Bombay Faculty Forum has publicly backed Doolla, stating that he was carrying out his duties as an invigilator and had followed the institute's prescribed procedure after detecting the alleged malpractice.

A structural fix

Rao, who has spent over 25 years at IIT Bombay and IIT Delhi, linked the episode to what he called a one-size-fits-all approach in the IITs. He noted that classrooms are highly heterogeneous, bringing together students whose JEE Advanced ranks range from single digits to five digits, with language adding a further challenge.

He said there is nothing wrong with opening the doors of the best institutions to students from different backgrounds, but teaching-learning methods must account for that diversity. A slow pace can cause some students to lose interest, while a fast one leaves others behind, he observed. Rao added that he has seen students with excellent JEE Advanced ranks struggle, as coaching had prepared them to solve familiar question types quickly but left many lost when faced with an unfamiliar problem.

As a solution, Rao suggested that the IIT system consider extending BTech programmes to five years. Under such a model, students who meet credit requirements could finish in four years, or perhaps three and a half, while others could spread their courses over five years with additional academic support, including recorded lectures, online material and language help where needed. The pace, he said, would be decided by performance within the IIT rather than by admission category or entrance rank.

Rao argued that framing it as a five-year programme for everyone carries a psychological advantage, as those who need more time can simply follow the design while those who are ready can finish sooner. He urged the education system to recognise that students do not learn at the same pace, and said giving them the time and support to meet standards is a responsibility of the system.