As per a recent survey conducted by the renowned Indian IT firm, Wipro Infotech, the Indian educational system demands some path-breaking improvements. I came across this particular survey in a newspaper and was quite disturbed to know that most of the students of India’s renowned schools are unable to tackle situations which demand a bit of common sense.
Having been a part of the same system, I’m aware of the fact that the current system is producing graduates who are just aware of the theoretical aspects but when it comes to practical implementation, they are badly found wanting. I remember my first day at work as a trainee engineer. The senior who was to train me for the job, inquired as to what I’d learnt at college. So I described some of the topics which I had studied in my BE curriculum. Instantly he shot back, “Forget it. From now on you’ll just remember what I tell you. Hereafter, this is your college.” And he was spot on. Within a couple of days, I found that the entire BE curriculum was literally of no worth whatsoever when it came to practical implementation.
Thereafter, I thought about the situation and guess what…I’m still thinking about it. Having been a part of the IT sector for over 5 years now, all I can say is that our current educational and examination system at max test a student’s memory and writing speed, nothing more than that. You just need to mug-up the text book phrases and write as much as possible in the answer sheet and PHEW……. You would top the class. To add to that, if you memorize a bit more and subsequently fill up more pages in the exam (without actually understanding), you may even top the university.
There’s hardly any effort on the part of most students to actually understand the gist of a particular topic. The project and research work done as a part of the curriculum is a mere formality.
Let me provide you with an example that would further justify my observations. Recently some graduate trainees were here at my office for their research project work. All they did was to survey the current market scenario and draft a few excel sheets based on their observations. On being asked for a conclusion, they just summarized the data they had collected. There was no value-addition from their end, no solutions, no suggestions meant for improvement. In short, the entire research report basically solved no purpose whatsoever.
The situation becomes even more depressing when we come across the research reports of people pursuing degrees as elite as Ph.D. All they do is study some old research reports, pick and choose data from each one of them, compile it all and present it as their own report. Where is research in the true sense, something for which a PhD is so highly renowned?
The true basis of education is to make an individual adept at developing the highest form of thought process instead of just building up a ‘mug up’ culture. Today’s educational curricula, specially the ones used for graduation courses, hardly have the nucleus to train an individual as per the current demands of the industry and the society on the whole. An engineering curriculum still boasts of topics that had become redundant ages ago. Yet, hardly any initiatives are being taken to bring about the desired modifications. Corporate houses have been consistently advocating the change they wish to see, yet it all falls on deaf ears.
Until and unless the people in power take some strong measures, the Indian educational system would keep on churning out masses who as per their certificates are supposed to be ‘skilled workers’ but 75% of whom are considered unemployable by their industry of choice.
Author Info : Jay Bhatt is a station engineer currently working with BIG 92.7 FM. He loves browsing through current affairs and wishes to contribute his thoughts on the same using the web as a medium.
'In The Orbit' Designation: Associate Author
In case you too wish to contribute an article, please click here
Having been a part of the same system, I’m aware of the fact that the current system is producing graduates who are just aware of the theoretical aspects but when it comes to practical implementation, they are badly found wanting. I remember my first day at work as a trainee engineer. The senior who was to train me for the job, inquired as to what I’d learnt at college. So I described some of the topics which I had studied in my BE curriculum. Instantly he shot back, “Forget it. From now on you’ll just remember what I tell you. Hereafter, this is your college.” And he was spot on. Within a couple of days, I found that the entire BE curriculum was literally of no worth whatsoever when it came to practical implementation.
Thereafter, I thought about the situation and guess what…I’m still thinking about it. Having been a part of the IT sector for over 5 years now, all I can say is that our current educational and examination system at max test a student’s memory and writing speed, nothing more than that. You just need to mug-up the text book phrases and write as much as possible in the answer sheet and PHEW……. You would top the class. To add to that, if you memorize a bit more and subsequently fill up more pages in the exam (without actually understanding), you may even top the university.
There’s hardly any effort on the part of most students to actually understand the gist of a particular topic. The project and research work done as a part of the curriculum is a mere formality.
Let me provide you with an example that would further justify my observations. Recently some graduate trainees were here at my office for their research project work. All they did was to survey the current market scenario and draft a few excel sheets based on their observations. On being asked for a conclusion, they just summarized the data they had collected. There was no value-addition from their end, no solutions, no suggestions meant for improvement. In short, the entire research report basically solved no purpose whatsoever.
The situation becomes even more depressing when we come across the research reports of people pursuing degrees as elite as Ph.D. All they do is study some old research reports, pick and choose data from each one of them, compile it all and present it as their own report. Where is research in the true sense, something for which a PhD is so highly renowned?
The true basis of education is to make an individual adept at developing the highest form of thought process instead of just building up a ‘mug up’ culture. Today’s educational curricula, specially the ones used for graduation courses, hardly have the nucleus to train an individual as per the current demands of the industry and the society on the whole. An engineering curriculum still boasts of topics that had become redundant ages ago. Yet, hardly any initiatives are being taken to bring about the desired modifications. Corporate houses have been consistently advocating the change they wish to see, yet it all falls on deaf ears.
Until and unless the people in power take some strong measures, the Indian educational system would keep on churning out masses who as per their certificates are supposed to be ‘skilled workers’ but 75% of whom are considered unemployable by their industry of choice.
Author Info : Jay Bhatt is a station engineer currently working with BIG 92.7 FM. He loves browsing through current affairs and wishes to contribute his thoughts on the same using the web as a medium.
'In The Orbit' Designation: Associate Author
In case you too wish to contribute an article, please click here
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2 comments:
very nice article by mr jay bhatt
Jay, your article indeed makes a very valid point. The difference between the standards of the industry and academia is too huge for comfort.Surely, the respective authorities need to step in big time and start taking such issues seriously.
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