It wasn’t long ago that successful campus interviews at the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), had happy students holding job offers despite the economic slowdown. However, post lockdown, these very students are facing an uncertain future. While quite a few offers are getting repealed owing to the poor state of most companies, students are not in a position to participate in any future placement drives as rules do not allow them to do so if they have an offer in hand.
The institutes are in touch with the organisations that have expressed an inability to honour their offers, to find out if they will be able to at least fulfil the commitment made to few, if not all, the selected students, after six months.
The students, meanwhile, are quite concerned because as per the rules of the institutes, they cannot appear for interviews if they have already been offered jobs. Even if the offers are withdrawn, the students cannot participate in placement sessions again according to the present rules. These rules were established in the best interest of the students, so as to ensure that all of them get an opportunity to land a job. With the COVID-19 outbreak and the ensuing lockdown and closure of businesses, the institutes may now have to revamp these rules. The placement heads of the IITs and IIMs will be meeting soon to discuss the issue and take a decision.
