The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Higher education in a mess
Number of degree-holders goes up, quality down
Sunit Dhawan

describing curiosity as a holy spirit, the great scientist Albert Einstein had once remarked how curiosity “survived” formal education was nothing short of a miracle. His words ring true when we see the growing tribe of degree-holders loitering about aimlessly. After all, one wonders, what has the education done to the bright youngsters, other than robbing them of their natural capabilities?

The focus of today’s education is not on developing the overall personality of the students, but to provide them bookish knowledge and distribute degrees on the basis of mugged-up facts and figures. Even higher degrees like M.Phil and Ph.D have lost their sheen and glory. Even though some professional and technical degrees of reputed institutes groom students according to the fast-changing needs and requirements of industrial and service sectors, the traditional courses like MAs in history, political science, sociology, public administration, etc., are being run without any vision or focus whatsoever. No effort is being made to reframe the course curriculum and introduce more practical, functional and need-based aspects.

A majority of students pursuing such degrees lack a definite focus or aim. They just go to a college or a university for a stipulated time and come back with degrees. There is hardly any effort to enhance their physical stamina, polish their communication skills or instill confidence in them.

True, some students get into the civil services after completing a PG degree in humanities, but their number is limited. Most of such successful candidates come from some prestigious institution located in a big city.

A glance at the number of students making it to the IAS or IPS from small towns would be sufficient to make the situation clear. Besides, in the recent years, more students from engineering and medical background have emerged as stronger contenders for the civil services as well.

Hence, there is neither any utility nor any scope in such traditional courses without a target-oriented approach and a definite aim in mind. The situation has come to such a passé that even a graduate or postgraduate is not able to write a simple application or letter or speak confidently on a given topic. To make the matters worse, the education does not impart the virtues of dignity of labour. As a result, while an illiterate person is willing to do menial jobs to earn his living, “degrees” come in the way of “literate” youth who don’t qualify for posh jobs, but are not ready to do lowly ones.

One might remember the observation made by the protagonist of the famous novel, To Sir, With Love, that he was “too well-qualified for the lowly jobs; and too black for anything better.” The teachers at college and university level also share blame as many of them make little effort to update their skills and put in some extra labour to make the students understand the concepts. Thus, a radical change in the mindset of teachers is also a must. The emergence of distance-education wings at universities has further eroded the quality of higher education. The distance education courses fetch lots of money for the universities and are being run in the garb of providing education to all.

As if this was not enough, there has been a mushrooming growth of “degree-selling” institutions, mainly in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, right under the nose of the authorities concerned.

“The quality of higher education is going down; and there are a number of reasons behind the rot. Lack of a well-defined education policy, apart from the poor standards of primary and secondary education and the menace of copying are some of the factors responsible for it,” says Prof S.P.S. Dahiya, Head, Department of English and Foreign Languages at Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak. Dr Dahiya believes that to stem the rot, a comprehensive education policy is the need of the day.

“Apart from it, there should be no compromise in the selection of teachers, who play a crucial role in shaping the future generation,” he asserts. The university professor laments that even the level of a Ph.D degree, which was held in high esteem earlier, has gone down.

In a nutshell, the education system should also change in accordance with the changing times and it is high time that the teachers, students, government and intellectuals realise their responsibilities to ensure a bright future.

Finishing IT pros’ shortfall

KOLKATA: The Indian IT industry is battling a severe shortage of skilled professionals that may slow its progress on the fast growth track. This is especially true in West Bengal, which has emerged as one of the fastest growing IT destinations.

“Every year, about 300,000 IT professionals pass out from different universities across India. But only 10 per cent of them are employable by MNCs operating in India. This is a crucial problem the industry is now facing,” National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) vice-chairman and ZenSar Technologies CEO Ganesh Natarajan told IANS.

According to a Nasscom-McKinsey study conducted recently, India will face a severe shortage of 500,000 knowledge workers by 2010. The study also pointed out that there are alarming indications of a mismatch between academic performance and industry expectations.

Natarajan said Nasscom is tying-up with finishing schools and encouraging centre of excellence programmes to develop manpower quality across India.

The IT and ITes industry in West Bengal, which has emerged as a one-stop destination for IT giants like Cognizant, IBM, Wipro, and HCL, is also facing a similar crunch.

“To meet this challenge we, on behalf of the state government, will collaborate to set up finishing schools in the state. Presently, there are two finishing schools in Kolkata and Durgapur. We are setting up a third in Siliguri shortly,” West Bengal principal secretary, IT Department, Siddharth told IANS.

He said the government is also considering other places in West Bengal for setting up similar finishing schools to meet requirements of the IT sector.

West Bengal IT Minister Debesh Das has pointed out that the state would require 200,000 IT professionals by 2010. Presently, there are about 44,000 IT professionals working in the sector in West Bengal.

The state has about four million sq ft of space occupied by IT and ITeS companies. It is expected that by 2010, they will occupy an additional 20 million sq ft.

The sector is growing at a rate of 71 per cent in West Bengal against the national growth rate of 36 per cent. The IT and ITeS sector in West Bengal generates about Rs 32 billion worth of business every year.

“Since West Bengal is poised for rapid growth in IT and ITeS in the next few years, our aim is to help bridge the gap between quality engineering graduates and the industry standard,” said Siddharth. —IANS

Campus NoteS

Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak
Non-violence day observed

The faculty, students and staff of Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU) observed the International Non-Violence Day on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri.

Floral tributes were paid before images of Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri. An all-religion pryaer meeting was organised to mark the occasion. The contributions of these great leaders of the country were remembered and lauded.

The MDU Vice-Chancellor, Prof R. S. Dhankar, exhorted the students to follow the ideals of these great souls and live a virtuous life. He asked them to always remain prepared to help the poor and the needy and do their level best for the betterment of society.

Exam schedule

The MDU authorities have announced the schedule of examinaions for the academic year 2007-08. Accordingly, the deadline for the submission of examination forms has also been declared.

According to an official statement, the last date for the submission of examination forms for undergraduate and postgraduate classes is October 23 without late fee. The students can submit their examination forms with a late fee of Rs 200 till November 21 and with a late fee of Rs 500 till December 12.

Training camp

A five-day-long youth leadership training camp was organised by the National Service Scheme (NSS) wing of MDU. After inaugurating the camp, the MDU Vice-Chancellor, Prof R. S. Dhankar extolled the virtues of selfless service, hard work and participation in social and community development works. The university’s NSS coordinator, Dr S.C.Malik, conducted the camp. Earlier, NSS Day was also celebrated on the university campus on September 24. NSS volunteers from MDU teaching departments and affiliated colleges of the university participated in the NSS Day function and the leadership training camp. NSS programme officers and volunteers were felicitated.

— Contributed by Sunit Dhawan