Diluting standards of engineering education

Education standards of Engineering colleges which are affiliated to major universities in erstwhile combined Andhra Pradesh are declining year of after year in all aspects of technical education. Pass outs of these colleges are neither good in technical and professional skills nor they are capable of good communication and soft skills. This is evident from the software companies campus selection process. Now a days these companies are preferring regular degree students such as B.Com., and B.Sc., instead of B.Tech professional education. Lakhs of students who passed out of these colleges are virtually becoming jobless and the frustration of not getting into right job putting them on wrong track for earning money. These facts are evident from the recent incidents of police crime investigation where engineering students are being jailed . There are several reasons for this degradation of Engineering education standards.

1. Colleges without proper faculty and infrastructure: Many colleges do not have qualified and experienced faculty as managements are not paying them good salaries on time. Most of the colleges are having only faculty names on the rolls but practically teaching will be done by just finished B.Tech/M.Tech graduates who will do the job just for pocket money. Secondly many colleges do not have infrastructure such as Laboratories, teaching aids, libraries with required materials. Though the government and National Accredation Authority have responsibility to check the standards of the colleges, corruption takes care of every thing and ground reality remains only on paper.

2. Students taking up engineering course as the fee is reimbursed by government: As on today college seats are getting outnumbered due to lack of demand for the engineering seats in many colleges across the state. Since the strength is not getting filled, colleges management is becoming non remunerative and managements becoming desperate to get students and admitting them by hook or crook to get reimbursement of fee by government. This leads to students who does not have enough interest as well as basics are joining these professional courses and spoiling their own reputation along with the college and university.

3. Outdated syllabus and curriculum : Most of the traditional engineering branches are still due for up gradation of their syllabus from their respected affiliated universities and Universities are not in a position to do this as they are preoccupied with expanding new courses, new branches of education, new affiliations with foreign universities , introduction of new online and offline/correspondence courses. But these universities never give an eye to innovate and redesign the syllabus of existing courses.

4. Examination system: Many colleges whether it’s a semester system or yearly examination system, not testing the student’s ability rather still the stock question and answer patterns are being followed. A student who goes thru the previous four semesters test papers can get 60% score in the current examination. Students are being advised to buy guides and sample test paper solved answer books(All in one books) for preparing to the examination. This leads to very low quality out put where student after coming out the college can not face real time situation.

5. Lack of soft skills development: As an engineer, one has to work with team of people in the work place and one needs to develop good language and communication skills along with thinking out of the box for arriving solutions for complex problems. These skills are to nurtured in colleges as a part and parcel of their education system but no where these leadership qualities are being developed. Even the project which they have to take up at the end of their college education and internship in an industry or workplace are being diluted and dummy projects and entertainment college trips to site seeing places are being dubbed as internships. How people will get quality education if the colleges resort to this kind of compromise. Many Students who are coming out these colleges are not being fit for any job though they have a degree in their hand.

6. Parental Check: Since it’s a professional course many parents could not understand and know what his son/daughter is undergoing in the college. Similarly there is communication between colleges and parents. Many students are completing the course with regular backlogs of previous semester/year subjects throughout the Engineering course. Students status is not being informed to parents until unless they are out the hands.

Hope governments understand the need of scrapping the permissions of colleges who donot have good infrastructure and also look into the wasteful exercise of conducting entrance examination where seats are left unfilled. They should think of new admission process where by student should also be grilled properly to find whether he is suitable for joining a professional Engineering course.

by Raghu bhushan Eranki