Looking at the volume of engineering colleges
in India there arise a question of,do these volume bring in any value out to
the society and students. What is the need to have this volume when students
come out unemployed? The negativism brought forth by such questions has
crippled engineering
education in India.
In this global era, rather than focus on
India, the question should be whether the world needs so many engineers. The
answer is a big, “yes.” Is there a need for scientists? The answer is again,
“yes.” The world needs in plenty well-equipped, talented graduates with the
right attitude. There are job opportunities for those who have the potential.
In addition, opportunities for self-employment are also plenty for innovative
and energetic minds.
Breaking free
Let us look at the
Indian education scenario from the point of view of parents whose little
masters are applying for admission to colleges. As the trend goes, most
students would like to pursue professional programmes such as medicine and
engineering. Since fewer seats are available for medicine, getting an MBBS seat
has become extremely difficult and the majority is left with the next popular
option—engineering.
Our school education system offers
combinations of courses in the higher secondary level such that a student by
choosing these groups can pursue engineering or medicine, even though these two
streams call for entirely different aptitudes. The ideal higher secondary
system would orient the student towards evaluating their aptitude and choosing
to pursue one of the two streams. This would ensure that the chosen stream
matches their aptitude. This is not happening now.
In the absence of proper orientation in the
system, parents and their wards follow an inappropriate procedure while
selecting their branch of study in the college. During counselling, we notice
that the selection of a branch of study is based on the following: (1) The most
sought-after branch in counselling, (2) The branch having good job
opportunities as seen by the previous year placements, (3) Parental pressure
and (4) Peer pressure.
This is not the right practice. The correct
way will be to spend some time assessing one’s interest for a particular branch
and check if it matches well with the aptitude one has and the chosen branch of
study.
It is because of such practices that we face
problems of employability and dissatisfaction in existing jobs, which can lead
to high turnover rates, low productivity and increase in the stress level of
employees.
Myth and reality
Having understood the education scenario,
parents should free themselves of a few myths that surround them, and make a
fair decision concerning the future of their ward.
Myth 1 One should be a professional such as a
doctor, lawyer or engineer to be successful in life. Other degree programmes
are not useful.
Myth 2 Marks scored in higher secondary are a
true reflection of one’s intelligence, and the one who has scored 95 per cent
is more intelligent than others.
Myth 3 Those who studied higher secondary
education in vernacular medium cannot shine in professional courses taught in
English.
Myth 4 Unemployment is high, so campus
placement is everything.
Myth 5 An engineering degree in the most
popular branch, with 8.0 CGPA and above will definitely fetch a job.
How to make the choice
There are some thumb rules to be followed in
choosing an engineering education.
•The interest of the candidate and his/her
choice of branch should be the criteria for admission.
•Every parent should orient the child towards
finding out their natural interest and the aptitude for the particular subject
or branch of study.
•Parents should avoid deciding for the
candidate.
•For a strong-willed person, if the choice is
made based on his/her liking and natural taste, then studying that branch will
be the best thing rather than joining any other branch, for whatever reason.
•It is not wise to join a branch of study
because it is popular or because the job opportunities are high.
•The choice of institution is also critical.
The other option is for the students to take
the branch of study available in a reputed college and start liking that
branch, plan well and work hard. What is critical is students’ interest in the
branch of study and the efforts put in by them to equip themselves adequately
enough during their studies.
