Educational institutions started the trend of giving mere bachelor’s and master’s degrees a twist by introducing modules that gave students an edge over ordinary freshers. An era of equal emphasis on academics and job training had thus begun. With competitiveness in education becoming a way of life, we have seen a paradigm shift in pedagogy, not only at the higher education level but also at the school level.
And in tune with this trend, the Central Board of Secondary Education introduced vocational courses — geospatial technology, food production (hospitality and tourism), food and beverage services (hospitality and tourism), mass media studies and media production — for classes 11 and 12 from the 2011-12 session. This year will see a concerted effort towards introducing more vocational courses at the higher education level. Job-oriented education has cast its net over the education system, not only in India, but the world over. Is this the only way forward? we ask.
The demand
Colleges and universities have had the practice of seeking feedback from the industry and those who recruit their graduates to improve the course content. And the industry has also recognised the need to keep the academicians in the loop in order to ensure that the graduates they recruit are “ready-to-use”. It is this communication between the industry and colleges that has given us the most evolved and industry-oriented syllabus. Putting this in a nutshell, Prof S Muraleedharan, chief placement officer, Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering-Chennai, tells us, “The industry now prefers to have candidates with the ‘right attitude’. They select students who can communicate well, take up challenges, complete projects within a time frame, be a team worker and also one who can lead a team. Hence they expect students to be ‘industry ready’ when they leave colleges.”
The industry is growing and catering to a global clientele, which means that unless our students are equipped to take on the challenges of a competitive workspace, they would struggle to get a top job with a company of their choice. “There has been a significant increase in the number of students going in for professional courses in many states. But the rate at which the industry is growing is higher. Educational institutions are unable to match the expectations of the industry,” says S Nagarjuna, general manager, Wipro Technologies. Nagarjuna is of the opinion that theoretical knowledge among students is of the required level but they lack in applications. “We need a good balance of theoretical and practical knowledge related to their course,” says Nagarjuna, who also heads Mission10X, which is a nonprofit faculty training programme.
Some academicians are of the opinion that it is the skills that gives students an edge over the rest. Prof Susan Thomas, chairperson-placements, Loyola Institute of Business Administration-Chennai, says, “The rigour of the entrance exams ensures that the quality of students is of a certain standard. The basic course content is the same, but the differentiators are factors like leadership qualities, business ethics, etc. So we train our students in these areas in order to get noticed in the employability market.” In addition to this line of thought is the growing belief that an MBA is a sure-shot way to rise up in one’s career. “The additional qualifications that one goes for these days is seen as a path to landing a better job. So, as far as PG degrees are concerned, students look for only job-oriented courses,” says Suresh Babu CN, placement officer, Institute for Financial Management and Research-Chennai.
Supply
It is but natural that colleges serve this demand. We see a slew of finishing schools and soft skill training institutes setting shop at every street corner, but it is only when these skills are taught in congruence with the course that it is best delivered and received. “Having been in academics and interacted with the industry for about 20 years now, I have come to understand that unless students are taught applications of their subject, they are handicapped in the industry,” says Prof Rajeeva Karandikar, director, Chennai Mathematical Institute. He introduced the MSc Applications of Mathematics course two years ago and hopes that his first batch of students will be fit to join the finance industry this May. Prof Karandikar recounts an incident during election time when a team of mathematics students was given the task of designing a database to display election results and related statistics. “The team came up with a really complicated system. It had no idea that only one person is fielded from one constituency by one party. The team members were under the impression that Independent was a party by itself. This is why applications is important,” he explains. He adds that most MSc mathematics graduates may not even know the difference between revenue and profit. “They are that cut-off from reality,” says the brain behind the applications course, which has now been replicated at Indian Statistical Institute’s MSc Applications in Statistics course.
Similar is the story of Chennai’s MOP Vaishnav College for Women. The principal, Nirmala Prasad, says, “Colleges are compelled to address this aspect (job-oriented training) to ensure good placements. When we were offering a course called BSc Nutrition and Dietitics, our top students would fetch a meagre `5,000 during placements. We undertook a survey of the industry requirements and found that food science and management is a course that will bridge this gap. And now our students are hired by corporates at higher salaries.” She adds that apart from having soft skills being built into the curriculum, students should be given opportunites to implement these skills and that is where the role of internships comes in.
Prof R Rudramurthy, principal, PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore, confesses that he is going with the flow. He says, “The industry clearly tells us that students who are not skilled will not be employed. The industry insists that knowledge-based type of education has to be supplemented with skill-based education. So, we teach our students to use software to design systems and try to aid the process of bringing together knowledge and skills in our course.”
Placement mantra
Hundred per cent placement — that is what colleges advertise, it is what parents and students go for. When was the last time one considered the course content or quality of teachers in an institute to seek admission? The end result is the only consideration for many. “Sixty to seventy per cent of the students who come want to get a good placement,” says Prof Rudramurthy. It is also the fact that most students take education loans that propagates this trend of placement-driven education. “The aim is to get a white collar job at the end of the three or four years. Gone are the days when the degree was for education. Higher education means just employment,” says Prof Prasad. Prof Karandikar who comes from a hard-core academics background says, “It is not necessary that mathematics education has to be followed up with a PhD. We are giving students the choice of landing a job after their masters with this applications course.”
Students are mostly seen to be profiting, landing plum opportunities with corporates and constantly raising the bar with regard to the pay packages. “While I was applying to colleges, my top priority was placements. So I went into the history of placements that various colleges offered and made my list of colleges to apply. Though one may not directly look at the course or faculty quality, clearly, if the placements are good, then the college is doing something right,” says K Uday Shankar, a final-year BTech IT student at SSN College of Engineering-Chennai. And he sure is not disappointed with his institute. He says, “Placements are on and I hope for a good job.” But there is a dark side to this, says Gomathy Santhanam, placement officer, Ethiraj College for Women-Chennai, “In certain cases I have seen students are forced to take up a PG in a subject that is far removed from their UG course just because the PG degree will get them a better job. Now the common belief is that if you have an MBA then you will get a decent job. Getting a job has become the sole aim in life for people.”
Against the motion
The purpose of an institute as a place to achieve the highest level of education is undergoing a metamorphosis and some stake holders are not necessarily happy about it. “A university is more than just a place for higher education. It is for research. The obsession of placements is unnecessary. If the students and the institute focus on the process of delivering knowledge more than the end result, the final goal will be achieved anyway,” opines Prof Shradha Kanwar, NIIT University.
Echoing the same sentiment, Prof Rudramurthy says, “This will always be there. We can’t completely do away with the placement-driven mindset of students and parents, that is where most of our students come from. Therefore, we encourage the remaining 20-30 per cent of students to take up master’s, research, entrepreneurship etc.” He goes on to say that students become laid back once they land a job and they do not take the course seriously after placements. “We tell our students to write a competitive exam as a back up, in case the company which has offered them a job is unable to keep its word. The situation is so volatile now,” says Prof Rudramurthy.
Recognising the imbalance, Nagarjuna says, “This challenge will not be there if we develop the relationship between the subject and real life applications at the college level itself. There is no conflict of interest per se here, both these aspects need to be given equal importance.”
Though not everything about the employability factor is detrimental to education, Prof Prasad says, “Colleges have to be proactive in this respect.” That is the way colleges and students can ensure they have a favourable situation to deal with.
— susmita@newindianexpress.com
source: http://www.ExpressBuzz.com / Home> Education / by Venkata Susmita Biswas / Express News Services / January 21st, 2012