The Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JoSAA) 2016 website has displayed registration and lecture commencement schedules for IITs where majority seats have been filled. IITs have uploaded PDFs containing regulations, fee structure and requirements for admission to the institute.
IIT Bombay (IITB), in its instructional document, has mentioned a very specific clause, that no other IIT has included in its instructions. Students securing admission to IITB have to get themselves vaccinated against Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR), Typhoid, Hepatitis A and B, and Chickenpox. Admission/registration formalities to the institute will be stalled until certificates of vaccination are submitted to the IITB hospital (See image below).
Shubham Goyal, a final year student in IITB, said, “Students are advised to get vaccinated before joining the institute, but if they don’t, the institute hospital has facilities to do so at a subsidised rate. In any case, taking the shots is a part of the admission process.”
But what about students who have already been vaccinated in childhood for Hepatitis, Typhoid, MMR and Chicken Pox? Do they have to repeat the vaccination? As per IIT Bombay rules, the student should be recently vaccinated. Another student of IIT Bombay, Shrey Goyal, says, “Chickenpox and MMR vaccinations should ideally be taken at least once every year, as the effect of the vaccine doesn’t last for more than a year.”
According to the IITB hospital staff, this rule has been there for the last five to six years. When students from other cities shift to Mumbai, their immunity gets compromised while adjusting to the food and lifestyle here. While no other IIT compels students for vaccination, IIT Bombay claims it is for the safety of students as the institute receives crowds from remote cities/villages in the country.