I recently came across an interesting article about Engineering in India and the IITs.The IIT's are premiere institutes for higher education started as a brainchild of the Nalini Ranjan Sircar Committee. They are the pride of India when it comes to Engineering producing some of the finest Engineers over more than 50 years.
However there have been a lot of debates lately over the standard of the engineers graduating from the IIT's.Who is to to be blamed for this?The faculty? Or is it the students?I think it is the education system in India as a whole that deserves the credit.After secondary school education,most of the students end up staring at either medicine or engineering as their future prospects.Even students who want to pursue an MBA get into the frenzy of the IIT coaching institutes just for the brand value.So the IIT's end up getting intelligent students but not necessarily ones interested in Engineering. One should then not be surprised to see the quality of engineers dropping.How many of the engineers actually end up taking a job in their core field?Most of the highest packages from the IIT's are that of the banking sectors and this is too
The IIT's are being looked at as an option for a safe future rather than institutes for research studies.Parents often force their children into the coaching centers.'Work hard for two years and your future is safe' seems to be their mantra.Even the teachers get frustrated as they are left with the task of teaching engineering to people most of whom are just not interested !!
A higher awareness at the school level about various career options available is the need of the hour.Students need to be more aware of the different options they have so that they can choose the field they are going to spend the rest of their lives in without just blindly following the crowd.This responsibility should be taken up by the schools.
Just a thought!
However there have been a lot of debates lately over the standard of the engineers graduating from the IIT's.Who is to to be blamed for this?The faculty? Or is it the students?I think it is the education system in India as a whole that deserves the credit.After secondary school education,most of the students end up staring at either medicine or engineering as their future prospects.Even students who want to pursue an MBA get into the frenzy of the IIT coaching institutes just for the brand value.So the IIT's end up getting intelligent students but not necessarily ones interested in Engineering. One should then not be surprised to see the quality of engineers dropping.How many of the engineers actually end up taking a job in their core field?Most of the highest packages from the IIT's are that of the banking sectors and this is too
The IIT's are being looked at as an option for a safe future rather than institutes for research studies.Parents often force their children into the coaching centers.'Work hard for two years and your future is safe' seems to be their mantra.Even the teachers get frustrated as they are left with the task of teaching engineering to people most of whom are just not interested !!
A higher awareness at the school level about various career options available is the need of the hour.Students need to be more aware of the different options they have so that they can choose the field they are going to spend the rest of their lives in without just blindly following the crowd.This responsibility should be taken up by the schools.
Just a thought!
Well, its an interesting opinion! I agree with you on the fact that students do not take well-informed decisions about their future in India before university education.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the IITs not producing quality engineers is concerned, I think its because of lack of exposure to the students in their schooling. IITs , and any other top college like MIT or Harvard for that matter, open up a world of opportunities for students that sadly no other college offers. It is in these colleges that one realizes their true potential because of the highly competitive attitude of the students. And speaking about IITs producing people who go into various fields apart from engineering, well why not? As long as they excel in what they do and take India forward!
I think its very important to set up more top class institutions like the IITs and IIMs to balance out the demand!
Karthik,you have rightly pointed out the need to establish more top class institutions to balance out the demands of various fields.
DeleteThe IIT's are surely managing to produce people who excel in their own various fields.It is just a matter of whether we take this in a positive connotation or a negative one.
But all I am saying is right now the sole purpose for which the IIT's were set up i.e to produce world class engineers is to some extent being defeated.
The very perception that any child who takes up arts or commerce after his 10th class 'should have been a dumb wit' should be changed.And
ReplyDelete'Work hard for two years and your future is safe' is a line I have been hearing from ages! Heard it in 10th, then again in 12th and now throughout my years of engineering. I'm sure I ll have to slog my ass out with my boss too.They should rather prepare you for this in school and that there will no rest whatsoever in the future (until you retire maybe).
You are right to point out the plight of arts and commerce.This is the case with other fields as well.And sadly this seems to be the case only in India.
DeleteA drastic change in perception is just what Indian education needs right now.This can only be done starting at the school level.
Entirely True! I read a recent article somewhere which said that most of the students getting into the IITS nowadays are the "most coached" and not necessarily the "most intelligent" of the country.
ReplyDeleteAlso many people just take any arbit branch , just for the IIT Brand. So obviously, they will be disinterested in the course, right before they begin college!
Good posts man! Keep writing , dont give up once you go back to college
It is indeed sad how the coaching institutes are playing such a major role.
DeleteThanks GP..:) Will try to keep the posts coming!!
Well,first of all a very nice article,rather good observation I would say. But is it true that IIT's have lost their glamour? I feel that the quality of education in the IIT's is at par. About IIT's serving their purpose, it can be said that some students want to earn money and that's why they end up in the IIT and ironically they are one of the brightest minds of the country. Now some students come from a poor background, then their craze of being in top MNC's is completely justified. Indeed they are good engineers but they end up in the place in which they are not supposed to be. And also this does not entirely boil down to the educational system thing-->we also have the reservation system of which we all know. Also in saying all this, do we ever question the quality or purpose of Harvard engineers. We never think of them. Though IIT's are not seving their purpose is what we are saying but are we(IITians) on our behalf willing to think ??
ReplyDeleteVaibhav,You seem to have misunderstood what I am trying to say here.The IITs are unquestionably among of the world's best institutes. They definitely haven't lost their glamour and still are producing some of the brightest minds in the world.All I am saying is that they are straying from their goal of producing the best engineers just because there aren't as good institutions in the other fields.
ReplyDeleteThe desire to earn more is justifiable and I am no one to question it.But this should be no reason to choose a seat in an IIT !!This is exactly my point.As a few of my friends have already pointed out,there is a need to set up universities similar to the IIT's in the other fields as well.
AS exactly quoted the senior secondary schools should take responsibilities to enlighten its students about various career prospects.Ans as far as IIT's are concerned they finally end up admitting students who are mere JEE problem solving machines! there are exceptions though.What I personally feel is there could be something like an interface where students who crack JEE should face interviews with faculties who should try obtaining a deep insight about the student's true caliber or rather the extent of his urge to be a world class engineer thereby fulfilling the sole purpose behind establishment of IIT's.
ReplyDelete