8/6/2019 Seats Aplenty Engineers Scarce
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Seats aplenty engineers scarce
In a country faced with an acute shortage of trained engineers,
there are still no takers for at least threeout of every 10 of the
10.73 lakh seats in engineering colleges. A National Association of
Software andServices Companies (NASSCOM) study says engineering
services are a $40 billion opportunity for India
by 2020, but only one in four of the 4,00,000 graduates passing
out of the 3,200 engineering collegesevery year is employable.
Worse, only three out of 10 of the teaching faculty is competent
and qualified.
India Today
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byAmarnath K. Menon - 30 Jun, 2011
In a country faced with an acute shortage of trained engineers,
there are still no takers for at least three
out of every 10 of the 10.73 lakh seats in engineering colleges.
A National Association of Software andServices Companies (NASSCOM)
study says engineering services are a $40 billion opportunity for
Indiaby 2020, but only one in four of the 4,00,000 graduates
passing out of the 3,200 engineering collegesevery year is
employable. Worse, only three out of 10 of the teaching faculty is
competent and qualified.
Avaricious politicians intent on either making a quick buck or
laundering their kickbacks have workedassiduously to open
engineering colleges, giving standards the go-by. It has never been
easier to set upone which may cost anywhere between Rs 3 crore and
Rs 10 crore. A politician ropes in relatives orfriends to set up a
trust and, if resources permit, puts up an impressive building.
Then, with the help of aretired academic appointed as director or
principal woos part-time faculty and admits studentscollecting
hefty sums as donation to build the college campus. This is besides
the tuition fee of Rs 60,000and more a year. The more enterprising
run a B-school, pharmacy college and even a teachers'
trainingcollege on the same campus.
While most governments are quick to blame private universities
and All India Council for TechnicalEducation (AICTE) rules for the
way questionable colleges have mushroomed, the AICTE's response
isthat it doesn't interfere too much in education as it is on the
Concurrent List. It is this ambiguity that
keeps institutions such as R.K. Institute of Management and
Computer Sciences in Bangalore-started in1999 and which admitted
all of two students last year-and Nivedita Institute of Management
andTechnology-started in 2008 at Murshidabad, West Bengal, and
which has less than four students on itsrolls-in existence.
