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IIT Kharagpur is now asking its alumni to come back to the classroom once again - for learning new things as well as teaching younger students.

Facing shortage of faculty, IIT is launching various distinguished alumni faculty schemes which would allow an alumnus to teach at the alma mater for sometime.

Prof Siddhartha Mukhopadhyay, dean of alumni and international relations, IIT- Kharagpur said that "We want our top ex-students to return to IIT for taking some classes for a short period. The kind of exposure they can provide the students on certain topics, even we cannot give them. They will bring in new flavour to the class".

As part of alumni in reach programme, he said they are coming out with schemes like distinguished alumni faculty scheme, scholar in residence, innovator in residence, etc to invite top ex-IITians get back to the classroom for sometime but in a different role.

The innovative move will also help counter shortage of faculty in the IIT, he admits.

IITs have failed to maintain the ideal ratio of having one teacher for every ten students. Kharagpur is short by about 40 per cent and needs to recruit around 450 faculty members more for its 10,000 strong student community.

IIT officials blame it on an increase in students' intake and non-availability of qualified candidates for taking up teaching as a career.