Hot cakes no more

Coaching centers witness little activity as EAMCET loses its sheen

At a time of the year when coaching centers are supposed to bustle with students preparing day and night for EAMCET to secure top most ranks that will give them an entry to the most reputed institutions, there seems to be very less activity this year at most of these centers which pledge to provide the future engineers and doctors. Students are switching track from the field of engineering, most of them feel pursuing a three-year degree program will give better scope for job opportunities rather than spending four years on a programme that’s losing its shine.

Also many engineering colleges in the state lack proper infrastructure, other facilities required to be able to produce quality engineers. Dilip Veturi, a student applying for a B.Sc Computer Science program at Loyala Degree College, is one among those who has dumped the regular tradition of appearing for EAMCET after completing Intermediate course. “I have done MPC and secured a good percentage.

I have decided to write an entrance exam for a degree program rather than EAMCET because engineering has been lowered down to mere business. Do you see the number of engineering colleges that have come up? The outskirts of the city will give you the sight of one college followed by another in a row. A four-storey building, a lab which lets you perform the basic experiments, faculty members who are not very well qualified to teach are hired, and concessions which are offered to attract students are similar to a discount sale at a shopping mall,” the student rued.

Another student, Rohit Vyas applying for the same course at Loyala Degree College said, "In many colleges, the infrastructure is not good and the faculty is not up to the mark. It is important that we have a hands-on experience on everything we learn in order to progress. A few colleges, like those from IIT and MGIT, considered to be some of the top most engineering colleges in the state, have the required facilities and students from there do very well for themselves.

For the rest, who have to manage with a free-seat being offered by a college in the outskirts, getting a job becomes very difficult.” Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have the maximum number of engineering colleges when compared to any other state. The state has over 350 engineering colleges with around two lakh seats even as just 1.5 lakh students have applied for the engineering entrance exam.

Many feel the standards of certain colleges are undervaluing this degree. With very few takers for engineering seats in the state, these coaching centers hardly have a few candidates before the upcoming EAMCET exam, which will be held next week.Srinivas Rao, a lecturer at one of the private coaching centers in the city says that the interest for engineering is soon losing ground. “I’ve been coaching EAMCET aspirants since 2003; I have never seen such a downfall.

There is still an interest in the field of medicine; most of the students who have admitted themselves have chosen BiPC. Earlier parents considered engineering and medicine as the two best or rather the only good degrees available but now with different courses being offered, parents are leaving the options to their now better informed kids. With the standards of most of the engineering colleges in the city continuing to decline, there are hardly any takers this year,” highlighted the lecturer.

Another reason for many backing out of this conventional program is the abysmal quality of education in engineering colleges. It is lowering employability and affecting students’ careers. Close to 70 per cent of engineering graduates from colleges in the state this year failed to find jobs after they finished their courses.Sridhar Muppidi, an engineering student himself, supports the above statement.

“A majority of students who completed engineering courses are working as faculty on contract basis in the same college or other engineering colleges as they fail to get proper jobs. There is a dearth of jobs for engineers but a surfeit of engineering colleges in the state today. I will have to pursue another course after completing engineering to earn a job in one of the software companies,” expressed the student.

Rakesh Kumar, who graduated four years ago, narrated the difficulties he faced before he became a full-fledged employee. He said “After I completed engineering with a good per cent, I dreamt about landing in a job that would fetch me a package of 8 lakh per annum, but I couldn't get a suitable job after months of search. I was disappointed initially, but later had to gather courage and think of what lay ahead. I then decided to pursue MBA in Finance and took up a full-time course for two years.

Today, I feel I should have taken up an accounting course and done a regular B.Com degree rather than pursuing engineering for four years.” Hyderabad does not have any dearth of technical jobs since many leading software organisations are present here. It’s in fact known as the hub for software engineers. Even so, most engineers are unable to secure a job despite the growing demand because these colleges fail to educate students the right way.

They technical knowledge and also have poor communication skills. Jyothsna Prabha, a lecturer at St Martin’s Engineering College, says that colleges should use the latest technology while teaching as this initiative would help them generate more interest among students. She further added that the administration should bear in mind that the future of the student will depend on the quality of education it provides.

By:NAVATHA Y