IIT professor’s response to student asking for attendance angers internet

A screenshot claiming to show an IIT professor’s blunt response to a student asking for attendance concession is going viral online. The screenshot was shared online by an X user who said it was the professor’s response to a student who wrote to him asking for attendance concession as he was participating in a debate competition.
The IIT professor refused to grant attendance, instead suggesting that the student should stop “begging” professors to make concessions for him. The professor gave the example of famous drop-outs like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg who created great products because they believed in their ideas. Students who feel strongly about extracurricular activities should similarly drop out instead of trying to have the best of both worlds with attendance concessions, the professor hinted.
“People admire Gates or Zuckerberg because they dropped out of college to pursue what they believed in, not because they went around begging professors to make concessions or exceptions for them,” the professor said in his email response to the student.
“And they created new technology that impacted billions of humans and created trillions of dollars of value. If you strongly believe in other pursuits, be brave and drop out and make something really worthwhile.
“But we both know you are never going to do that, and we both know that a debate competition has no tangible value in the real world. If you want respect, demonstrate bravery and strength, not cowardice,” read the email.

In the comments section, the X user who shared the screenshot online claimed that he had gone to IIT Kharagpur to attend the institute’s Spring Fest when he was shown the email by an IIT student.
HT.com could not independently verify the authenticity of the screenshot.
The post has gone viral with nearly half a million views on X, where many people shared their opinion in the comments section. Most people were surprised by the professor’s tone and decision to refuse attendance.
“Prof acting like attending his lecture will make any difference. Most college professors are on a different ego trip, while their lectures remain out-dated and outclassed by random YouTube channels. Mandatory attendance is a joke,” wrote one X user.
“Sorry but this is in poor taste. Why so much drama? Just say yes or no. Why take pot shots at a young person?” asked Rohit Girdhar.

Perplexity AI CEO and IIT alumnus Aravind Srinivas simply responded with a “Yikes.”
“Most Indian professors and bureaucrats make it their life goal to increase the suffering in society as much as possible,” an X user said. Several others criticised the professor for pulling a “power trip” over a student.