Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Time for a Revamp??

This is an excerpt from the letter I have sent to an uncle of mine, who is a senate member at Kerala University. I need you to comment on it, raise your opinion on the same. Put in your thoughts for revamping the system.
"
Hello Uncle,

I am currently at IITB and my stint here has left me pondering on the flaws in the system back home in Kerala. I would like to bring to your notice two very important facets of the students across various Universities in India(Kerala being an exception)

1) The students across universities like Mumbai,Pune etc have the provision of 3 month internships at various places of their choice

2) Our syllabus is more focused on giving tidbits of information on a plethora of subjects, and hence the fundamentals are often compromised for. My syllabus for engineering covered such a wide range of topics, ranging from electronics and communication systems. I can't claim expertise on either.

This is not just a one off opinion, I guess many students would vouch for the same.

I think the time is ripe for fine tuning the technical education system in Kerala.Changing the syllabus every five years will do no good. Our syllabus doesn't even incorporate the latest trends in the field of technology like nanoelectronics etc while many private universities are offering dual degree programs on the same.

I can suggest some valid points on the same. Most of the companies spend huge chunks of cash for training the new recruits. A plausible alternative could be,the recruit should be given a 3 month internship with the company,which could double as a training as well as an academic requirement.

Being a senate member at the Kerala University, I believe you can take up this cause and go for a wider discussion regarding the same in the senate."

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

This will really help.

Shwetha Krish said...

Yes thats a really good thought

Mr. Commonsensical said...

I second your thought, infact, I have spent some time too, thinking the same thoughts you had. I am at NC State University and I got a chance to compare the education system here and the system back home in Kerala. The BS(or BTech) students here actually are better trained and more knowledgeable than what we were when we came out. We came out studying 63 subjects and I hardly retain anything.

Sandeep said...

Dear Sandeep,

I have forwarded your mail to a few people. Will consider your suggestions while the system is revamped.
I know that the system is totally different from that we have at our University. I had worked there for almost a month for my M.Phil work.
Looking forward to many creative suggestions.

Sandeep said...

The much awaited reply for my mail. I am going to pursue this cause further. I hope you guys would have better suggestions regarding the same. Kindly post the same here as comments.

Sreehari H said...

nice idea.

Gokul Das said...

Hi Sandeep! Nice to hear such strong words from you. But I have no hopes for KU - not that I doubt your intentions. The situation at KU is actually far worse than what everyone seem to think. Many students are seriously disillusioned. And I have decided that when I go for my next qualification, it won't be with KU.

Of course there are problems with lack of internships and touchy feely syllabus. But the system itself is actually rotten to the core. Answer sheet evaluation is often done on the basis whether it resembles the text book or not. If the students decide to use their own words for the correct concept - they lose. This often gives rise to paradoxes like experienced students nearly failing, while inexperienced ones get 80 or 90 percent. This is often the case with C++ paper.

Sometimes, it is even worse. I know of stories where some evaluators value upto 30 papers in 30 seconds. Very often, the answer sheet is a blatant display of the evaluator's ignorance about the subject. If that is the case, they should atleast show the courtesy of letting the students pass. But they also show absolute arrogance here - often leading to some brilliant students failing. How about a university first ranker who nearly failed in one subject? Or how about BARC and ISRO recruits failing in the last semester for subjects they know like the back of their hands? Do I need to tell you how this affects sincere students?

The lack of standard valuation scheme is immediately apparent. In one class of 60, the first half of them almost fail completely while the latter half get on average 80 percent for the same subject.This happens every sem and most end up in law suits. But the university always escapes by assigning some random extra marks for some students.

And then there is the misbehavior of examiners. The students are expected to maintain pin drop silence. But the examiners are allowed to do whatever they want. For viva voice, it is very common for the 'etern' to read questions from text books and then shout back at the student if they don't know the answer! I have even heard some say 'get out'. So much for discipline!

That much for exams. But the learning process isn't much different. When someone is assigned a project work, they simply start looking for agencies to do the work for them. Nobody even questions this - not even a review of the authenticity of the projects.

I agree with your sentiments. In KU you can win if you can mug up equations without knowing their meanings or consequences. Even the technology under study is antiquated - like the 8086 processor support chips that stopped shipping when we were still babies. But how do you expect a university that always looks for the easy way out - to actually address these more subtle issues?

Sorry for all this Sandeep! But my disappointment with KU is so great that I think KU can't escape without firing the staff responsible for this fiasco. Still, I do support your spirit.

Sandeep said...

Strong words. I do agree with every point you have made.
I have a firm belief that instead of blaming the system, put an effort to changing the system. That has been the driving force behind this. I have seen numerous columnist elaborating on what is wrong with the system, but nobody makes a concerted effort to ring in change.

I really nurture this unrealistic hope that numerous such petitions to people in power can bring about some change. The response from the senate member in this case seemed positive.

Anyway, let us hope for the best!!

Gokul Das said...

Sandeep, I really am not opposing you. For once, I even thought about becoming a lecturer so as to show others the minimum stature and dedication a lecturer must show. I even tried my hand at helping students -that too without wages. To surprise, I found most students eager to learn if they found the educator to be sincere enough. Unfortunately we are dealing with a whole generation of misguided 'educators'.

Still, I do agree with your suggestion that doing something about it is far better than simply writing about it. May be, with a stronger united voice, we stand a chance. If you are planning something, do count me in. Please keep in touch.

Sandeep said...

Sure, I shall let u know if I am planning on something of this sort. You are right about educating the underprivileged. The commitment of the educator is the factor that will determine the success of the endeavor.