The author of this article is a final year engineering student in PARK COLLEGE OF ENGG. AND TECH., COIMBATORE   

Man   has engineered a lot ever since he evolved on this planet. The purpose of this article will be to analyze the current status of the field of engineering & technology in the EDUCATION sector.

The last few years have seen the birth of numerous engineering colleges in the state of Tamilnadu. So much has changed that ENGINEERING COLLEGES mean big business these days in the state. To what extend do these engineering colleges help the engineering industry in finding their required WORK FORCE is truly a serious question to be answered and this article will aim at finding an apt answer to the question raised.

MANAGEMENT OF FUNDS BY THE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

The financial status of every educational institution owning an engineering college will definitely influence the quality of the engineering college and the education imparted in it. The more the money available, the better is the college. This is the mantra behind it, which can’t be denied under any case.

In my view, the educational institutions owning engineering colleges, irrespective of their financial status, do not prioritize their expenditures with respect to the welfare of their students. Exceptions are always there for everything on this planet. Not in all cases do exceptions serve the purpose. From whatever I have seen, I can confidently say that not all managements that run engineering colleges in Tamilnadu are financially sound enough to efficiently run an engineering college. (The fact which most of the managements strongly PROVE WRONG much to my amusement). Even those which are capable of acquiring financial assistance, do not prioritize their expenditures.

THE REASON:

The educational institutions are more interested in the AESTHETICS of the college than the quality of education imparted.

There are instances where lakhs are spent to air-condition the auditorium in spite of the knowledge of leaking toilets in the college hostel. Only the minimum required amount of money is spent on the machinery bought for the college laboratories. The purpose is to satisfy the INSPECTION AUTHORITIES and not to expose students to the field of engineering.

All these tell me that managements are not managing their funds properly. This IMPROPER USAGE OF FUNDS by the managements highly affects the quality of education imparted in the college. Colleges might seem to be developing fast. By 2030 our colleges might be the best in the world. That is not my concern. What is the current status is what matters. BAD now can’t become the BEST tomorrow.

EXTENT OF COMMERCIALIZATION OF ENGG. EDUCATION

Tamilnadu is one of the leading states that produce the most number of engineering graduates in INDIA. This is made possible by the existence of over 220 engineering colleges in the state. With most of the students preferring engineering, it is always profitable to own an engineering college here in Tamilnadu. With the govt. freely allowing private sector people to start their own engineering colleges, engineering education has been ruthlessly commercialized, much to my embarrassment. Many colleges don’t even seem to have satisfied the so called minimum requirements as specified by the governing university.

This is a fact proven by the colleges of these days in the state. One machine is installed and declared sufficient for over 300 students of the college. This forces the students to use the machine in groups of five or ten (sometimes even more), preventing them from learning thoroughly the experiment involved. It is to be noted that at one time, only one can operate a machine. The reminders of the group become mute spectators and eventually fail to learn the working of the machine and the experiment.

Seats are sold out as commercially available consumer products. Anyone with money can BUY an engineering seat in a college of his or her choice.

The government has framed out a separate quota of seats to be sold out.

This has not only spoiled the dignity of engineering education in the society but also reduced the chances of poor students getting into engineering colleges. Like fortune favouring the bold, engineering colleges now are favouring the rich and not the poor. Thus the commercialization of engineering education has denied students, their welfare in terms of quality education and equal opportunity.

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