Engineering a bright future

This season of the engineering admissions in Tamil Nadu has been deemed satisfactory in many aspects. Engineering colleges affiliated to Anna University have filled 72.81% of the sanctioned seats through the single-window counselling process. When compared to last year, 23,620 more seats had been available, and experts and officials are convinced that students picked their seats with greater awareness of the potential benefits, without being swayed by the advertisements issued by colleges. In this backdrop, R. Sujatha takes a look at the many factors that have a significant role to play in grooming the engineering students in the State for a bright future

Engineering educators in Tamil Nadu are pleased with the admission season this year. They consider it a bonanza: engineering colleges affiliated to Anna University have filled 72.81% of the sanctioned seats through the single-window counselling. This year, 23,620 more seats were available than last year.

Data show that students preferred Computer Science Engineering-centric programmes. And, there has been a miniscule increase in the number of seats filled in Mechanical and Civil Engineering.

This year, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the body that regulates the student strength in colleges, permitted colleges to add seats in certain ‘popular’ disciplines without insisting that seats in subjects such as Civil and Mechanical Engineering must not be surrendered. Last year, that provision was not included.

Better awareness

Officials of the Directorate of Technical Education, who handle the counselling, say that students made their choices with more awareness this year. Independent career guidance expert R. Ashwin also acknowledges it. Just when the Directorate began the counselling, there were allegations that some agents had called up candidates with high cut-off marks in rural areas and urged them to choose institutions that they suggested. Some students had fallen prey to it, admitted R. Velraj, former Vice-Chancellor of Anna University. He advised parents and students, through the media, not to be lured by such elements. “It is best to seek advice from a well-wisher instead,” he said. The Directorate also had candidates with high cut-off seeking its help to reverse their choice of college during the online counselling.

But engineering education observers say it is common knowledge that colleges have agents who persuade candidates to opt for their institutions, even if the candidates have marks that could get them a seat at some of the best institutions. “The details of State board students can be easily accessed as the government collects the data from all schools,” says an educator, adding, “The government must protect the data.”

The admissions happened against the backdrop of allegations that many colleges had cheated in the appointment of faculty members. The founder-chairman of a group of institutions on Chennai outskirts says the AICTE’s decision to permit colleges to add seats without a cap may not help. There are no checks on deemed universities which admit students in thousands, whereas affiliated colleges are answerable to the government, he says. Senior academics, however, say personal attention of senior college administrators has done wonders for their institutions. Mr. Velraj, who had been the deputy director of affiliations in the early 2000s, recalls his experience. Institutions under the direct supervision of the founders thrive because of personal attention, he explains.

In a report he presented to the Syndicate of the university then, he had recorded the reason for the success of private colleges. SSN College of Engineering was a pioneer in many respects, he recalls. It not only appointed faculty with research experience but also paid the faculty handsomely. “SSN was established in 1996. In 2004, the eight-year-old college had 50 faculty members with Ph.D. At that time, there were 40-42 other engineering colleges in the city, excluding Anna University’s four departments. Together all these colleges had around 45 faculty members with Ph.D degrees,” he says, adding: “That is the kind of difference the college made. No other college could match the salary of SSN. The primary requirement of having good teachers helped. The initial faculty members they brought in were very good.”

Human resources play a major role, he says, citing the example of Alagappa University, which “is still doing good”, thanks to the efforts of the first Vice-Chancellor. The appointment of good teachers and their contribution had raised the standards of the university. “In the last 15-16 years, the selection of teachers was not good throughout Tamil Nadu,” he remarks. The poor quality of teachers was behind the mediocre performance of the universities, he says.

Industry expectations

Industry observers say good admission figures are also due to the initiatives of the State government. K.E. Raghunathan, national chairman, Association of Indian Entrepreneurs, says, “The biggest challenge today is the employability of youth. The Naan Mudhalavan scheme has created huge confidence among the students that they will secure the right jobs after their education. This is actually evident from the admission this year to engineering colleges.”

The government’s awareness of the emerging industries and technologies and preparing the students for the future job market will benefit the State, he feels.

Ramkumar Ramamoorthy, partner at Catalincs and former chairman and managing director of Cognizant India, also sees huge opportunities for students. Digital technologies are transforming every industry and specialisation in areas such as data sciences, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and smart manufacturing is bound to create more jobs. “They will throw open innumerable employment and entrepreneurship opportunities to students. There is a global shortage of skilled professionals in these areas and expanding this pool of talent is critical for the economic growth of not only India but also the rest of the world,” he reasons.

But are teachers equipped to teach the subjects? No, he says, stressing the need for training the teachers. “There is a crying need for upskilling and reskilling faculty members as well as for attracting practitioners from the industry as ‘professors of practice’ to ensure that quality is not compromised while scaling the much-needed talent,” he says.

Last year, the AICTE introduced the concept of professors of practice: industry experts who will go to colleges and teach students. According to Mr. Ramkumar, the percentage of employable engineering graduates is steadily going up. He points out that dozens of Centrally funded institutions such as Indian Institutes of Technology, Indian Institutes of Information Technology, and Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research have been established. Corporate houses have also funded private State universities, while private deemed universities are “expanding to other cities”. Besides, universities are roping in industry experts to prepare the curricula. He points out that the government is encouraging students to take online courses (massive open online courses) which are also given credits and recognised for degrees.

Structural changes

For the students to benefit from their education, it is important for institutions to have a good placement cell. “With major information technology services companies hiring in large numbers, placement officers of academic institutions have had it easy for many years,” he points out. Now that the information technology industry has made structural changes, the officers must cast their net wider and look at global capability centres, companies with high growth across industries, start-ups, and new-age companies. Institutions that have done their homework have placed over 50% of their students at global capability centres, he adds.

The Naan Mudhalvan scheme is “brilliant” as the best global companies and professors from the best IITs have curated the courses. “What is needed is more uptake from engineering colleges and greater industry acceptance of these courses,” he says. To be relevant, colleges must provide students with a platform for inter-disciplinary learning with good exposure to newer digital technologies. It is also necessary to educate parents on the choices available to students so that students can make wise choices, he feels.

The craze for Computer Science Engineering-centric courses do not impress senior academics or industry observers. Mr. Velraj, himself a Mechanical Engineering graduate, in an interaction with the media in the past, had regretted that students and their parents were influenced by the high salaries in the information technology industry. “What they do not realise is that these companies could send them out after a few years. Whereas candidates with the core engineering background start with a low salary, but rise steadily,” he said.

Another senior faculty member at Anna University points to how the departments at the Madras Institute of Technology at Chromepet fill up first and the campus is preferred mostly by rural students. “The students are innovative and quick learners, though they may lack proficiency in English,” he observes.

Mr. Ramkumar agrees that traditional disciplines continue to be offered at many progressive institutions and they have seen an increase in applications.

“A global automotive major in Chennai wants to hire a large number of women graduates with Mechanical Engineering degree and a working knowledge of digital technologies. They are keen on taking the proportion of women in their automated plant floors to over 50%. We need to educate parents so that their children grow their careers in any discipline they are passionate about as opportunities exist across disciplines of specialisation,” he says.

Published - September 29, 2024 01:21 am IST