The future of Engineering and Technical Education expansion in India

[DrRajpalSingh]

The much talked about concept of making various states as hubs of technical and engineering education seems to have back fired as reports reveal that this year the tendency of students towards technical and engineering education has declined due to various reasons. Some blame it to slow down in Indian industry and shrinking of job opportunities in both the private and government sectors.

Others blame it to the poor state of basic infrastructure and faculty position in technical and engineering institutes which have sprang up in the recent past.

The private players engaged in the field of imparting Engineering and technical education, blame it to the bad publicity and criticism at the hands of the ministers of certain states and by vested groups who carried out a slander campaign against them.

Be what it were. The fact is this year more students have opted for courses such as B.Sc and B.Com than Engineering or Technical Diploma Courses in Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan and other northern Indian States.

Let us discuss what is in store for future of the institutes and try to find out the causes and cure of the malady to recuperate the ailing segment of our very important college and higher education system.

Thanks

[malikdeepak1]

Paise de kar paper clear karwane wale, aur sifarish se lagne wale lecturer jab tak lagte rahenge bhavishay to dhundla hi dikh raha hai technical education ka.
Jab mujhe kuch nahi aata to mai students ko kya sikhaaunga? Mahaul badlna jaruri hai shiksha parnaali ka.

[ssgoyat]

I Believe, this is a smart move by the students. I appreciate this newer generation.

Reason: Most of the students run for an MBA after completing engineering (If not immediate after, 2~5 years down the line). So why to waste extra 1 year at engg + additional 6-8 Lacs fee. later spending 12~14 Lacs for MBA. Total Cost=18~22 Lacs

Instead, focus more on CAT/GMAT preparation, with the extra availibility of Manhours (out of regular BSc course) and not to mention 'the cost', which otherwise eat up a large part of post-MBA salary in paying up for Education Loan EMI's.

Additionally:- And with that extra available cash, go for either Management Quota Seat (If one is not competitive enough) or go Abroad.

This will also improve the much needed diversity in MBA Classrooms, which otherwise are largely dominated by Engg grads.
And not to mention, hit the supply pipeline of low rung, mushroomed engg colleges. And this drop will discourage further mushrooming of new engg colleges.

4-5 years down the line, only geniune engg aspirants will go for Engg degree (as the otherwise students will prefer a shorter n smarter route for further management education) who would further aspire for PG in engg only. This will improve the quality of Engg grads in longer run, further hitting the supply line of low rung engg colleges, and most of these could shut their shops, with their unability to sustain profitability, increasing operational expenses, and a hit in their bottomline :-)

In a nutshell , this was a much needed shift.

[vicky84]

The much talked about concept of making various states as hubs of technical and engineering education seems to have back fired as reports reveal that this year the tendency of students towards technical and engineering education has declined due to various reasons. Some blame it to slow down in Indian industry and shrinking of job opportunities in both the private and government sectors.

Others blame it to the poor state of basic infrastructure and faculty position in technical and engineering institutes which have sprang up in the recent past.

The private players engaged in the field of imparting Engineering and technical education, blame it to the bad publicity and criticism at the hands of the ministers of certain states and by vested groups who carried out a slander campaign against them.

Be what it were. The fact is this year more students have opted for courses such as B.Sc and B.Com than Engineering or Technical Diploma Courses in Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan and other northern Indian States.

Let us discuss what is in store for future of the institutes and try to find out the causes and cure of the malady to recuperate the ailing segment of our very important college and higher education system.

Thanks

Information technology has absorbed enough people and it has the limits. Being a new technology, IT survived. But its not the case with manufacturing. Manufacturing is not playing its part. Reason is very simple. Dead hands of bureaucracy, old labour laws, conspiracy of protectionism etc. Whole government setup needs a change. Need to abolish babudom. Decentralise power, private contribution to public sector is mandatory. Otherwise government will always lag behind in catching up with the market and become a obstacle in country's progress. Jobs can only be created once you make significant changes into public services. Without that we would be dreaming all the time.

[swaich]

I Believe, this is a smart move by the students. I appreciate this newer generation.

Reason: Most of the students run for an MBA after completing engineering (If not immediate after, 2~5 years down the line). So why to waste extra 1 year at engg + additional 6-8 Lacs fee. later spending 12~14 Lacs for MBA. Total Cost=18~22 Lacs

Instead, focus more on CAT/GMAT preparation, with the extra availibility of Manhours (out of regular BSc course) and not to mention 'the cost', which otherwise eat up a large part of post-MBA salary in paying up for Education Loan EMI's.

Additionally:- And with that extra available cash, go for either Management Quota Seat (If one is not competitive enough) or go Abroad.

This will also improve the much needed diversity in MBA Classrooms, which otherwise are largely dominated by Engg grads.
And not to mention, hit the supply pipeline of low rung, mushroomed engg colleges. And this drop will discourage further mushrooming of new engg colleges.

4-5 years down the line, only geniune engg aspirants will go for Engg degree (as the otherwise students will prefer a shorter n smarter route for further management education) who would further aspire for PG in engg only. This will improve the quality of Engg grads in longer run, further hitting the supply line of low rung engg colleges, and most of these could shut their shops, with their unability to sustain profitability, increasing operational expenses, and a hit in their bottomline :-)

In a nutshell , this was a much needed shift.

Good analysis. But I think we are missing a major cause of this shift. The hiring trends at companies themselves are a major factor. I see a trend as companies move away from hiring traditional engg grads and MBAs and instead opting for B coms or even BAs. This is especially true for co prorates in the online sector. Companies like makemytrip, Flipkart etc do not need high end engineers and can instead rely on the common business sense of the bcoms from good colleges. My company which is into analytics and relies on people with good writing skills to create the end report also hires B. Journ from good DU colleges. They come with good comm skills and can be hired at 30% less ctc than an engg from DCE.

[ssgoyat]

Good analysis. But I think we are missing a major cause of this shift. The hiring trends at companies themselves are a major factor. I see a trend as companies move away from hiring traditional engg grads and MBAs and instead opting for B coms or even BAs. This is especially true for co prorates in the online sector. Companies like makemytrip, Flipkart etc do not need high end engineers and can instead rely on the common business sense of the bcoms from good colleges. My company which is into analytics and relies on people with good writing skills to create the end report also hires B. Journ from good DU colleges. They come with good comm skills and can be hired at 30% less ctc than an engg from DCE.

Very True, but sadly that happens only for metro city general graduates. Like Delhi, Mumbai.. The rest of Indian students (professional grads: engg etc) struggle to find a decent job, coming out of low rung Tech schools. Students are now shying away from such colleges. Girls, being on slightly exceptional side, as being engg. adds to their martimonial CV.

[swaich]

Very True, but sadly that happens only for metro city general graduates. Like Delhi, Mumbai.. The rest of Indian students (professional grads: engg etc) struggle to find a decent job, coming out of low rung Tech schools. Students are now shying away from such colleges. Girls, being on slightly exceptional side, as being engg. adds to their martimonial CV.

Yes, the trend to hire non-enggs currently applies to only metro cities. But I think it will spread to other cities as demand increases.

[DrRajpalSingh]

...... Mahaul badlna jaruri hai shiksha parnaali ka.

You have very aptly nailed the crux of the issue; proper environment has to be created by overhauling of the present system of professional and vocational education right from grass root level to top level. The privatization of this segment has led to commercialization of the degrees resulting in deterioration of standard and quality of the pass outs. A very paradoxical situation has risen off late namely phenomenal increase in the number of engineering but not fully equipped to cope with the expectations and standards of the employers.

There is urgent need of cooperation in industry and educational institutions right from deciding the syllabus to imparting of on job training and final absorption of the trained human resource.

Thanks

[DrRajpalSingh]

Information technology has absorbed enough people and it has the limits. Being a new technology, IT survived. But its not the case with manufacturing. Manufacturing is not playing its part. Reason is very simple. Dead hands of bureaucracy, old labour laws, conspiracy of protectionism etc. Whole government setup needs a change. Need to abolish babudom. Decentralise power, private contribution to public sector is mandatory. Otherwise government will always lag behind in catching up with the market and become a obstacle in country's progress. Jobs can only be created once you make significant changes into public services. Without that we would be dreaming all the time.

Friend,

In addition to reforms mentioned in your post, delivery of qualitative education is of the utmost importance in this age of cut throat competition which is missing to a large extent in majority of the newly established engineering colleges and technical institutes particularly in rural areas.

[DrRajpalSingh]

Very True,..... Students are now shying away from such colleges. Girls, being on slightly exceptional side, as being engg. adds to their martimonial CV.

But the number of admission seekers males outnumber females even now, so the girls cannot be singled out as exception to the general trend.

[deshi-jat]

I guess this engineering field is already saturated. Indian universities produce about one and half million engineers annually. The curriculum is outdated and disconnected from the real world. Focus is on rote learning rather than critical thinking and comprehension. Also most of these pass outs have poor communication skills. So, many recruiters find them "not employable"

[vicky84]

Agree with that.. I think there are so many ideas to implement but policy makers are not willing to listen. Top bureaucrats have all the powers and even if they listen to our plea, their implementation strategies are very poor. For example, government announce many five year plans and so much tax payers money get spent on these plans. But all of these plans are eventually a failure(Huge tax payers money get wasted). Reason is very simple. Red tape, paper shufflers, inefficient people sitting in public service will let everything down. Unless you don't reform these public services, all of the plans will be a failure.

Friend,

In addition to reforms mentioned in your post, delivery of qualitative education is of the utmost importance in this age of cut throat competition which is missing to a large extent in majority of the newly established engineering colleges and technical institutes particularly in rural areas.

[swaich]

..... The privatization of this segment has led to commercialization of the degrees resulting in deterioration of standard and quality of the pass outs. A very paradoxical situation has risen off late namely phenomenal increase in the number of engineering but not fully equipped to cope with the expectations and standards of the employers.

I dont think privatization is a problem. Rather it opened up additional options for engg aspirants who otherwise only had a few govt. colleges to target. Earlier 10000 were fighting for 100 seats but now this ratio has come down due to private colleges.

The problem is the laxity by AICTE in checking the mushrooming of private colleges without adequate checks. AICTE norms are openly flouted, fresh out of Btechs are hired as teachers paying them peanuts, no infrastructure etc. As a result the student suffers. So more college isnt a problem, the problem is enforcing the strict guidelines to ensure quality doesnt decline with quantity. And sadly like with all cases, implementation lags policy by a long distance.

[DrRajpalSingh]

I guess this engineering field is already saturated. Indian universities produce about one and half million engineers annually. The curriculum is outdated and disconnected from the real world. Focus is on rote learning rather than critical thinking and comprehension. Also most of these pass outs have poor communication skills. So, many recruiters find them "not employable"

Though saturation point has not been touched as yet we are lagging behind in meeting the demand of properly qualified teaching faculty required for recruitment and also to accept the challenging assignments available in the fast changing service sector across the globe.

But the real concern to be addressed is enhancement of the quality of the new engineering graduate degree holders!!!

Thanks

[DrRajpalSingh]

I dont think privatization is a problem. Rather it opened up additional options for engg aspirants who otherwise only had a few govt. colleges to target. Earlier 10000 were fighting for 100 seats but now this ratio has come down due to private colleges.

The problem is the laxity by AICTE in checking the mushrooming of private colleges without adequate checks. AICTE norms are openly flouted, fresh out of Btechs are hired as teachers paying them peanuts, no infrastructure etc. As a result the student suffers. So more college isnt a problem, the problem is enforcing the strict guidelines to ensure quality doesnt decline with quantity. And sadly like with all cases, implementation lags policy by a long distance.

Friend,

I am not denying the role of private colleges in the field but, as you have implicitly pointed out in second para of your post, the lack of proper infrastructure and faculty is playing villain with the system of education. Not absence of policy but implementation of the policy is at fault.

Thanks

[deshi-jat]

Dr Saab,
Where would you employ million plus engineers in India per year? As far as global opportunities are concerned, they obviously look for qualities plus soft skills.

Faculty is not the issue; you have to treat them properly. There are so many talented Indians abroad with excellent academic records, who want to return to their motherland. But talent is barely recognized and rewarded in India. That’s why an Indian would find easily a faculty position in Singapore (say close to home), than in India.

Ghoom fir ke baat wahi corruption aur nepotism pai a jaati hai

Though saturation point has not been touched as yet we are lagging behind in meeting the demand of properly qualified teaching faculty required for recruitment and also to accept the challenging assignments available in the fast changing service sector across the globe.

But the real concern to be addressed is enhancement of the quality of the new engineering graduate degree holders!!!

Thanks

[deshi-jat]

No system is perfect. Many European countries have no tuition fee, so students (medical, engineering) will take admission yearly, get a student ID, enjoy free public transportation and subsidized drinks at pubs/discotheques. Universities say students are not serious because education is free.
In USA many parents/students can’t afford the college fee, because it is so expensive.
15-20 years back Russia dropped the salary of scientists, in hope that lazy will leave the science and only enthusiast will stay. But reverse happened. Talented ones went to abroad and mediocre stayed on.
So whats the solution?

I dont think privatization is a problem. Rather it opened up additional options for engg aspirants who otherwise only had a few govt. colleges to target. Earlier 10000 were fighting for 100 seats but now this ratio has come down due to private colleges.

The problem is the laxity by AICTE in checking the mushrooming of private colleges without adequate checks. AICTE norms are openly flouted, fresh out of Btechs are hired as teachers paying them peanuts, no infrastructure etc. As a result the student suffers. So more college isnt a problem, the problem is enforcing the strict guidelines to ensure quality doesnt decline with quantity. And sadly like with all cases, implementation lags policy by a long distance.

[vicky84]

In USA many parents/students can’t afford the college fee, because it is so expensive.

Bhai, still US is leader in technology. Information technology came from US/Europe. All the big IT companies(Mainstream) are from US. Indian IT companies are just the body shops. In patents, US and European countries are leading the world. Even China is now competing with them. China is on third spot(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...ies_by_patents). Same is the case for nobel laureates. We are no where when it comes to inventions. I think whole educational set up needs a overhaul. But who will bring that change and how will it happen is the need of hour. In my opinion, first of all reform the bureaucracy. These bureaucrats and politicians are the biggest obstacle in the progress. Indian public service is very incompetent as it is following an outdated model of governance. Without changing it, I think we would be dreaming all the time and nothing will progress.

[DrRajpalSingh]

Dr Saab,
Where would you employ million plus engineers in India per year? As far as global opportunities are concerned, they obviously look for qualities plus soft skills.

Faculty is not the issue; you have to treat them properly. There are so many talented Indians abroad with excellent academic records, who want to return to their motherland. But talent is barely recognized and rewarded in India. That’s why an Indian would find easily a faculty position in Singapore (say close to home), than in India.

Ghoom fir ke baat wahi corruption aur nepotism pai a jaati hai

We have to invest more on Research and Development and to equip out labs and faculty positions by giving due recognition to the talent to cope with the problem of lesser quality of the education being given to the youth.

Survival of the fittest is the present law in the modern world therefore those who are duly qualified will continue to step on the ladder of progress others will be left out on the way.

Therefore not literates but really educated engineers and technocrats are the need of the hour. Quality education imparted, quality education received and quality of work improved on the basis of acquired knowledge and skills develop will continue to invite attraction both the employers and employees inside India and abroad.

Thanks

[DrRajpalSingh]

Agree with that.. I think there are so many ideas to implement but policy makers are not willing to listen. Top bureaucrats have all the powers and even if they listen to our plea, their implementation strategies are very poor. For example, government announce many five year plans and so much tax payers money get spent on these plans. But all of these plans are eventually a failure(Huge tax payers money get wasted). Reason is very simple. Red tape, paper shufflers, inefficient people sitting in public service will let everything down. Unless you don't reform these public services, all of the plans will be a failure.

Friend,

You are right. Need of change in the mind set of the bureaucracy is highlighted by the political leadership from the highest level also very frequently but no concrete results have been visible so far. In recent years with the passage of RTI Act, hope has arisen that progress in right direction will be made!

In the context of the higher education, various regulatory bodies have great responsibility to see that the policy framed by the Government of India is implemented in letter and spirit so that both qualitative and quantitative expansion of engineering and technical education takes place in systematic form. After the role of regulatory bodies, the board of governors/ Governing body of the engineering body starts. They, having already invested huge sums of money in building infrastructure and getting requisite permission to run/affiliate their university/institute, start to find out loop holes in the provisions, rules and regulations to violate them and thus the rot starts.
Transparency clause in the system has been added and website information has been made mandatory by AICTE, the Regulatory Body and strict conditions have been placed in order to check the violations and derailing of the mandatory conditions. The UGC and the affiliating University have also tightened the rules and regulations in this regard. More and more people have also started to take interest in judging the quality of education their wards are provided.

Under the circumstances it is hoped that gradual growth of consciousness on the part of various stake holders and will of the regulatory bodies/governing bodies of the colleges and universities engaged in imparting technical and engineering colleges, the scene would surely change for the better in not too distant future.

Thanks.