Eduction
Certifying but not Qualifying “Education”
Dt: 3/7/14
Certifying but not Qualifying “Education”
Dr T.H.Chowdary*
The Vice Chancellor of Osmania University had in June 2014 said that 75% of the BA, BSc, B.Com etc., graduates are unemployable . About 60% of those who appear in such examinations get the pass certificate. Of them 25% only are employable. That is, 85% of those who join the university classes are unemployable! NASCOM, the National Association of Software Companies has been asserting that only 10% of the B.Tech certificate holders are employable and maybe, another 10% can be trained to be employable. About 13 lakh students join the 3600 engineering colleges in the country every year. 85% that is, about 11 lakh B.Techs are certified but not all are qualified to be employed. What for then is this nation spending money on the university education? Here in Andhra Pradesh the 720 and odd engineering colleges have an admission capacity of 3,25,000 . About 2,80,000 are “qualifying” to enter engineering colleges through the admission test, EAMCET. Of these only about 2,50,000 are joining the colleges. About a lakh of seats are going unfilled. There are aboru 10 lakhs unemployed B.Tech certificate holding young men and women in A.P. There is no immediate prospect of India’s’ ability to create employment for the lakhs of engineers we are graduating. This B.Tech certificate holders India is producing is more than the combined number of such persons produced by the USA, China, UK, Germany and Japan. Our economy is a fraction . of the US or China’s economy. Some of our politicians have been bragging about the demographic dividend that is, the number of young men we are producing every year is a great asset compared to
hardly any increase in the population of the developed countries. But what is the use of adding 18 mln people to our country every year, while we are creating no more than about 5 mln jobs a year? Young people are an asset if they are educated and skilled and are enterprising to create wealth by utilising the natural resources like the son , the minerals , the river waters and the forests and the oceans. IF they are unemployable or if we cannot create gainful employment for them, they are so many mouths to feed, clothe, house and care for their health at enormous cost.
2. The quality of engineers we are producing is very poor. The main reason is that our intermediate education has been completely destroyed. Private colleges are coaching these young only to pick up answers to questions . There is no understanding of the fundamentals whether they be physics, chemistry, biology or maths. In the engineering colleges text books are seldom read by the students. In most colleges, the “JNTU Bible” a compilation of the last few years questions in the EAMCET and answers only are “read” . A few examples illustrate abysmal level of a knowledge of even the best among them.
3. I interact with the associates in the largest IT company in the country during lunch. I ask questions like this:
Ø You are an electrical engineering graduate. Tell me what is hysteresis. What is the formula for power in a three phase power supply. What do you do to improve the power factor . The answers invariably are that either they are not taught or they have forgotten. These betray the lack of elementary knowledge of electrical engineering.
Ø I ask the ECE graduate what is Heaviside layer? Why do broadcasting stations go on changing the frequency for transmission during the day and according to seasons. Why code division multiplex is superior to time division multiplex. No answer.
Ø I ask the IT graduate, what is VOIP? What is steganography? What is digital compression? No these things are not taught.
Ø I ask a bio -medial engineer who has taken Botany and Biology in his Intermediate. There is a potted plant, you weigh when you put the seed. After the seed sprouts and the plant grows say, to 50-100 cmts height you weigh it, there is an increase in weight. Where and how did this extra weight come from . No answer .
4. It is obvious that these people have studied the JNTU Bible and not any text book which explains fundamental physical and chemical properties and processes. How can such people be creative .
5. A few years ago The Government of Andhra Pradesh introduced fee reimbursement for university courses. This was advertised as a measure for “inclusive” development, that is, the poor and the disadvantaged should be helped to become among other engineers. This is a very good idea but see the consequence. The father is a barber or a washerman or a potter. Wonderfully, the son is enabled to graduate as an engineer college at no cost to the family because of the fee reimbursement. The education in the collect is miserable. But they come out with a certificate, B.Tech. Because of the poor instruction and learning and understanding, they are not employable so they are jobless. How can a young person with a B.Tech certificate take to his father’s profession. There is no earning. It is such people who are in the 10 lakh unemployed B.Tech certificate holders. Engineering education has become a farce in the state. The managements of the colleges will one day or the other surely get the fee reimbursement for the number of students that are enrolled in the colleges. Because of unemployment, not many are wanting to join the engineering colleges. The college managements are employing canvassers whose job is to approach the parents of those who qualified to enter engineering colleges through the EAMCET. Competitive offers are made - will give Rs. 20,000 if your son opts for our college; another says not only Rs. 20,000 but we give free transport; a third offers Rs. 20,000 free transport and mid -day meals and the fourth says, besides those three we will give full attendance ; and the fifth says in addition to those four, we will give the 25% marks that are in our hands . Now where is the incentive for the young to learn, the teacher to teach and the management to improve the teaching and learning.
6. Instead of fee reimbursements scholarships should be given to those who are wanting to learn seriously . Loans also maybe given which carry a moratorium for repayment. Whatever is given free, has no merit nor does it add to the empowerment of any person.
7. It is easy to point out all the deficiencies but can anyone suggest any solution. The rot has started at the Intermediate stage . It is now being taken by the corporate education enterprises to the secondary stage of education, into high schools.
8. With less than 5% growth in GDP, how can we create enough jobs. When our GDP was growing at 8.5% to 9% we were able to create 10mln jobs a year. Of course this was much less than the 18 mln we are adding every year to the country’s population. During the UPA regime no more than 5 mln jobs per year could be created. Now there is talk of improving employability by imparting skills in communication and by development of personality. This is another fashionable “solution”. Skills and personality grow from child- hood, by nurture in the home, by instruction in the elementary and secondary stage schools, by extensive reading not only text books but also literature and history. The great characters in our ethics wow how did they growth what did they perform how did they move with other its knowledge of these. That for child hood builds up one’s personality. His confidence, ability to Communicate with others and is ability to learn and acquire knowledge. Money- makers thrive by marketing vending high sounding courses in communication skills and personality development skills come through ability to learn and speak and be spoken to; moving with other s to share or to excel; initiative and cooperative behaviour come through collective activity. The ability to write out thoughts and to speak and pronounce properly are to be cultivated from child hood, from the lowest class in schools . Neglecting all these and just going through costly personality development and Communication skills classes one will not be able to acquire which is not imbibed.
9. Many a distinguished engineer, economist and scientist in India had his education through the mother tongue upto the matriculation; the education in schools and from the parents was such that they could rise to great positions through impressive accomplishments. Our education has been destroyed in the name of secularism which branded Mahabharata and Ramayana as Hindu literature; populism which led to elevating politicians in power as benefactors of the nation and slogans of social justice, inclusive growth and welfare of the poor laying seeds for class conflict. It requires a few years to root out the rot and introduce true education that promotes natural growth of personality and communication skills.
(1,511 words)
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