Wednesday, August 31, 2016

EDUCATION SPECIAL......Mind-set amongst engineering students: Findings of a study

Mind-set amongst engineering students: Findings of a study

 Nandini Consultancy Centre, a chemical engineering and chemical business consultancy based in Chennai and Singapore, conducted a study on the mindset amongst the engineering students, with regard to their career prospects and future plans. The study was conducted during April-June 2016, when informal discussions were held with a cross-section of students, studying in engineering colleges, those aspiring to get into engineering colleges and those awaiting results after completing the course.
Objectives
More than one lakh seats remain unfilled in Tamil Nadu, which has around 550 engineering colleges. Similar conditions prevail in many other States in India. With so many seats now available, any student with minimum marks and who can raise the resources can join an engineering college, irrespective of merit and competence. Unemployment amongst fresh engineers has reached alarmingly high levels, with many under-employed or in areas totally unrelated to their engineering education. In addition, a large number of diploma holders in engineering subjects are also passing out every year. In such circumstances, it has become necessary to ascertain the mindset of engineering students, as to what they aspire and hope to achieve.

Findings of the study
Vague view on prospects for engineering education More than 90% of the students join engineering course not because they have understood the prospects of the particular branch of their study very well, but only due to their expectation that engineering education may provide them better career prospects, compared to the graduate level science subjects. This is a vague view, without any substantial evidence before the students or their parents. Students and their parents are disadvantaged in making their choice, since no reliable assessment has been made by the government or any private organization about the employment potentials for the various fields of engineering study.

 Choice of course
A few years back many students thought that a course in computer education would inevitably land them plum jobs. However, recent reports in the media that several information technology companies have slowed down their recruitment process or have failed to honour commitments made in the campus recruitment have created an impression that all is not well with the computer education as far as the job prospects are concerned. With herd mentality, several students and their parents are veering to the view that traditional subjects such as civil and mechanical may now offer better prospects. In most cases, the choice of course for study seem to be more decided by the parents and the elders in the family, rather than by the students themselves. Many students understand the nature of the course only after joining and some think that they have not made the best of decision after studying for two years. But they find it too late to change, and have to reconcile themselves for lifelong association with the subject, which may not be to their liking.

Students bank on reputation of college
Many students think that reputation of the college is the primary requisite for the students to land good jobs. Therefore, there appears to be a view that more than the choice of the course, the choice of the college is an important factor.
Anxiety about job prospects
 A small percentage of students are clear about the future option such as going for higher studies in India or abroad, or entering into business activities/self-employment. However, more than 95% of students only look for jobs. Many students seem to think that post-graduate education will not really improve job prospects in the present circumstances. Only a few colleges are visited by companies for campus interviews and these companies offer jobs only for some selected students. Unfortunately, engineering colleges organize no systematic counselling programme for the benefit of the students on choice of jobs. Even the few that do, do not do so in a well planned way. Many colleges do not organize interactions and/or lectures by experts in the field for the benefit of the students; and one or two programmes that are organized by a few colleges are often found to be inadequate and lack focus. This seems to be one of the major regrets of the students. In desperation, in several colleges, final year students organize themselves and write to various industries inviting them to visit the colleges for campus interview. Students from a few colleges said that they have never even received an acknowledgement for their efforts from the industry.

Prospects in core industries
Many students seem to believe that irrespective of their course of study, they should get into IT, primarily due to the attractive salary offers and comfort level in the job. Many are aware that by joining the IT, they will burn their bridges with core subjects like chemical or mechanical engineering and will settle for unrelated jobs. But they think that they have no option, as jobs in the chemical or mechanical industries are not many to absorb all of them, with good salaries.
Where are jobs available?
Students point out that very few advertisements appear in the media seeking fresh engineering candidates for jobs. Therefore, not knowing where jobs are available, students send large number of applications by email or letters to various companies. Rarely, acknowledgements are received. In such circumstances, students conclude that “contacts” have become necessary to get jobs.

Prospects for women
Compared to male students, there appear to be even more anxiety amongst female students about employment prospects. Most women engineers think they should get into IT or research functions. While this is possible for bright students, others with lesser academic performance do not find attractive job offers forthcoming. Many women students in the past have taken up entirely unrelated jobs or are not in the job market at all.

Under-employment
In a scenario where anyone with minimum marks can get admission into an engineering college, there are large number of students who have arrears or get low marks. In such conditions, it appears students who do not get high marks and who do not have “contacts” end up in jobs for which even 10+2 level of qualification is adequate.

What students want?
Students are aware that there are jobs available for meritorious students who consistently show high academic performance, which may consist of around 30% of the students. Nevertheless, the students point out that all graduating students are also engineers and high prospects for just 30% of students is not adequate. Students in the final year who are in the threshold of entering the job market find fault with the All India Council of Technical Education and the state governments for permitting so many engineering colleges, without relating them to the job avenues available and also not ensuring the requisite standards of education in many colleges. After completing the course and facing grim employment prospects, considerable section of engineering students, particularly those with not-so-good academic performance, think that they have erred in their choice of course of study.


-     Special Report  Chemical Weekly August 23, 2016

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