The maker unmade

Engineering education is in a bad way and science education worse off. A nation that prides itself on imagined ancient technologies ignores the present.

easwaran

SB Easwaran | April 10, 2019 | Delhi


#students   #IIT   #India   #education   #Engineering   #college  


The bad news about India’s engineering graduates continues unabated. Most recently, a study by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences concluded that American students of computer sciences are well ahead in quality than those from China, Russia and India. The only consolation – if it is at all – is that computer engineering students passing out from elite institutions in the latter three countries are on a par with the average American student of computer engineering.

 
In India, no one should be surprised. Since over a decade ago, consultancies like McKinsey, industry leaders and study after study have tut-tutted at the unemployability of our engineering graduates. And we have a glut of them. In the early 1990s’ talk of a race for development and growth with China, experts had said that our giant neighbour was preparing for its long-term goals by grooming engineers in large numbers. Despite straggling, India rebounded. Engineering colleges came up at street corners and remote hinterland villages, especially in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Many of these were run by politicians or businessmen who were cashing in on the demand for engineers during the IT boom. Quality was given the go-by: most of these colleges had worthless labs and few permanent teachers. Anyone who had cleared Std XII with science and maths could gain admission. 
 
Simultaneously, successive governments engineered the dilution of elite centres of technical education like the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Regional Engineering Colleges (RECs), now known as National Institutes of Technology (NITs). From the first five IITs (Kharagpur, Delhi, Kanpur, Mumbai, Chennai), we now have 23, with students at many of the newer ones complaining of lack of amenities. Time was when an IIT student inspired awe among peers. Now, the immediate question he will face is, “Which IIT?” The implication is that if he’s not from the top-ranked ones, he’s no better than someone from a ramshackle engineering college. Ditto for students from the NITs and second-tier colleges.
 
From the mid-noughties and through the early part of this decade, we have been creating 15 lakh engineers every year. The figure has since been on the decline as the authorities continue to derecognise inferior colleges and businessmen shut them down for want of students, who have realised that employment prospects for engineers are bleak. Even so, by a rough estimate, some 10 lakh engineers graduate yearly, about two lakh of them in computer engineering. Most studies say 90-95 percent of the lot are not fit for any engineering jobs.
 
The cream of the students from elite institutions anyway proceed straight to business schools and onwards to careers in marketing, finance, stock-broking or hedge funds. Middle-rungers gamble their gung-ho spirits on start-ups. So who are we left with to do the boring work of translating science to usable technology or  slogging the long hours that result in cutting-edge insights and innovation? With science education at school and college level worse than what our policies have done to engineering education, we cannot hope to pursue our sci-fi dreams in the way the West did, and now China and Japan are striving to. The downing of a low-orbit satellite notwithstanding, we will have to content ourselves with the imagined scientific glories of a hyper-golden past. 
 
sbeaswaran@governanceow.com
(This article appears in the April 15, 2019 edition)

Comments

 

Other News

Revamp BMC Engineering Department for better governance, says think tank

Calling for reforms in the Engineering Department of BMC, Mumbai Vikas Samiti, a not-for-profit organisation has said that less than optimum performance of Engineering Function has added to the woes of citizens and deterioration in the quality of life in the metro. In its recently released r

NGO hails Maharashtra move to amend Insecticide Act

Hailing the Maharashtra government for introducing a bill to amend the Insecticide Act, 1968, Pesticide Action Network (PAN) India has called the amendments ‘very  focussed’ and urged the state to expand their scope to address other challenges. The bill, introduced in the a

‘Garba of Gujarat’, now a Unesco Intangible Cultural Heritage

`Garba of Gujarat` has been inscribed in the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) of Humanity by UNESCO, under the provisions of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage during the 18th meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of t

Cyber frauds helpline has helped save Rs 930 crore

Since its inception, Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System has witnessed more than 12.77 lakh complaints registered (till November 15, 2023), and has saved more than Rs. 930 crore in more than 3.80 lakh complaints. This was stated by minister of state for home affair

COP28 discusses climate resilient development in Himalayas

Impacts and implications of Climate Change Vulnerability in the Himalayan Region and ways of creating ‘Climate Resilient Development in Indian Himalayan Region by making mountain communities green and resilient were discussed the side event hosted at the India pavilion at the UN Climate Conference CO

Air Pollution: What needs to be done to tame the silent killer

Air pollution in Delhi has been in headlines, as every year in recent times. Mumbai too has suffered from air pollution, despite being a coastal city. Apart from many other metros such as Bangalore and Kolkata, tier-I and -II cities and rural areas also have high pollution levels. Every year reports and st

Visionary Talk: Amitabh Gupta, Pune Police Commissioner with Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now


Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter