Umar Rahman, haqiquatnews, Kolkata: Engineering is one of the most popular and prestigious fields of study in India, majority of Indian families dream of their children pursuing courses in engineering and technology. However, since last few years, a paradigm mind shift among the guardians and students is noticed. Every student completing degrees in engineering and technology UG or PG have a dream to get a decent job. Generally, in the present circumstances, the confidence of students seeking admission in respective courses gets shattered gradually year by year and touches the rock bottom by the time they are about to pass out. This is primarily due to the uncertainties creeping in student minds because of the scenario prevailing around in respect to their placements and career prospects. The options after completion of courses are job in the private sector, job in the public sector, higher education and research. For quite some time the private sector jobs are majorly seen in computer and IT related fields, consulting jobs, service sector jobs, etc. while core engineering sector job opportunities are gradually going down drastically.
Job market: The job market for engineers has been near stagnant, around 48% of engineering students in the country are unemployed. According to a survey by NASSCOM in 2019, India produces around 15 lakh engineering graduates every year, but out of that around 2.5 lakh of them succeed in getting jobs in the core engineering industry. In another survey by Aspiring Minds, 80% of Indian engineers were unemployed in 2019, also, from 2017 to 2018, there were not more than 50% of fresh engineers from AICTE-approved colleges who secured the job. The major reason for employment challenges is that many graduates are not skilled enough to work in engineering after graduating. The major reason as identified by Industry majors are there is flaws in our country’s education system. A few years ago, a prominent figure of the Indian IT sector, commented on the flaws of the country’s learning system. He said, “Engineering colleges in India are churning out only 25% quality engineers and nearly 80-85 percent of young engineers are not suitably trained for any job.”
Lack of quality education: There is a focus on rote learning methods than that of meaningful learning and a shortage of quality faculty. The Indian education system measures knowledge based on exams, leading to less emphasis on learning and excelling in the subject. The core problem lies in the education modules that most of India’s technical universities follow. They emphasize more on technical writing skills and memorisation abilities of the students instead of deploying innovative methods that may improve their technical competence and skills. Conventional rules and regulations for pursuing an undergraduate programme hardly allow students to think beyond classroom learning. Many engineering colleges in India suffer from poor infrastructure, outdated curriculum, underqualified faculty and low standards of teaching and learning. These factors affect the quality of education and the employability of graduates.
Conclusion: Engineering is a highly competitive and demanding field that requires a lot of hard work, dedication and intelligence. Students have to face intense pressure from parents, peers and society to perform well in entrance exams, academic exams and placements. This can lead to stress, anxiety and depression among students, moreover engineering is a broad and diverse field that offers many branches and specializations. However, many students are unaware of the various options and opportunities available to them. They tend to follow the crowd and choose the most popular or lucrative branches, such as computer science or electronics. This leads to an oversupply of engineers in some sectors and a shortage of engineers in others. Engineers play a vital role in building the nation by applying their knowledge and skills to solve various problems and challenges that the country faces. Engineers design, construct, maintain and improve the infrastructure and services that are essential for the development and well-being of the society, such as roads, bridges, dams, power plants, water supply, sanitation, telecommunications, health care, education and transportation. Engineers also contribute to the innovation and advancement of science and technology that can enhance the quality of life and the environment, such as renewable energy, biotechnology, nanotechnology, robotics and artificial intelligence. Engineers are responsible for upholding the highest standards of ethics and professionalism in their work, as they have to ensure the safety, reliability, efficiency and sustainability of their projects and products, however, if the best of the minds loose interest in the engineering field due to limited scope and shrinking opportunities will cost the nation heavily in the long run. Time demands that the policy makers need to immediately rethink about the modus operandi of engineering courses changing from rote learning method to meaningful learning allowing young minds to go for problem solving and important critical thinking skills thus improving their scope and opportunities.
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