If the truth lies in numbers, Andhra Pradesh would be the leader of technical courses. The abundance of institutes offering technical courses including BE, MBA and MCA ensures that supply meets demand and more, though employability of graduates has been questioned time and again in various surveys. Slow markets and declining opportunities in IT and ITeS industry, which once made up for a large chunk of employment opportunities, have students looking at other career options. Though it is just nominal, trends point to equalisation of demand for conventional degree and technical courses at the undergraduate level.

A state, which prides itself for contributing the largest number of students to premier engineering institutions, is also one of the first to validate the rat race for cracking competitive entrance examinations like JEE. This has resulted in large-scale privatisation of Class XII education with high enrolments in ‘corporate’ junior colleges, which offer intermediate education along with rigorous coaching for various entrance tests. “The preference for science over humanities at plus-two level has increased over time due to parental perceptions and peer pressure,” observes Professor P Jaya Prakash Rao, chairman of Andhra Pradesh Council of Higher Education (APSCHE).

The emphasis on immediate employment after graduation pushes students towards professional courses, especially engineering. “Linking education to placements and demands of the market has led to a craze for professional courses. Conventional degree in arts or humanities does not cater to this. When I was vice-chancellor of Nizam College, I observed that only 10 per cent of students from any given stream find suitable employment right after graduation. Preparing industry-ready students should be a part of the academic training process,” says Professor S Mallesh, principal of Osmania College of Arts and Social Sciences.

Few takers

The surge in the number of technical institutions can be traced to 2004-05 when the colleges numbered only 238. It now stands at 687. The flip side though, is that nearly 550 colleges recorded an intake of 150 students or less after counseling for the state joint examination in 2012. This includes 25 colleges, which recorded zero intake. The number of engineering graduates has nearly trebled over the last decade and every year, 3.4 lakh engineering graduates are churned out, though campus placements have plummeted over the years. “Many states in this country witnessed a phenomenal growth in the number of institutions imparting engineering education at graduate-level from 1997. The growth was about 722 per cent by 2005. The growth in number of institutions offering technical education at degree-level is only under private sector, whereas at diploma-level the growth is in both the government and private sectors. The growth in the number of private institutions at degree-level from 1990-2010 is about 2,800 per cent whereas at diploma-level the growth during the same period is about 152 per cent.

Initially, there was control over private engineering colleges. However when AICTE relaxed norms pertaining to land requirement in 2007-08, colleges proliferated,” says Professor NV Ramana Rao, registrar of Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU), Hyderabad. This proliferation of institutions has not translated into proliferation of quality, which is partly due to a lack of a monitoring body.

Various surveys indicate that the gap lies in producing ‘quality’ graduates with strong domain knowledge and industry-ready soft skills.

Only a handful of colleges possess infrastructure on par with the norms set by All India Council of Technical Education. The Industry Readiness Index of engineering graduates compiled by PurpleLeap in association with Pearson Review indicates graduates of Tier-II and Tier-III colleges lag far behind. Students enrolled in postgraduate courses such as MBA and MCA fare no better, as indicated by an ASSOCHAM survey — the 2013 study indicates that only 10 per cent of management graduates are employable. Worst-hit are colleges offering MCA and BE Information Technology. While about a third of MCA colleges recorded zero admissions in 2012-13, only 28 per cent of the seats in BE (IT) were filled at the end of engineering counselling.

The increase in numbers has also been spurred by the fee-reimbursement programme introduced by the state government which supports tuition fee of students from disadvantaged communities. The drain on the state coffer has been large, as it is the sole source of revenue for many Tier-III and Tier-IV colleges.

“The present model for private engineering colleges is unlikely to build quality engineering institutions in the long-term. Revenues from fees are capped, which is the main source of income. There is very little operational flexibility for colleges to take new initiatives. Alternative funding models need to be explored. The state is primarily responsible for ensuring quality education at all levels and in all regions. This would entail strengthening of public institutions as also their quantitative expansion. It is evidently the obligation of the state to find ways and means of raising public resources for their purpose,” says Rao.

Resurgence of conventional degrees

The recent slump in IT and a sluggish market has taken the sheen off technical courses. Conventional programmes are back in the reckoning especially among rural students. The move to make higher education accessible has helped increase enrollment in conventional courses. “The state government’s policy of surveying various districts and establishing degree colleges has led to an increase in enrolment from rural students, especially girls for whom accessibility is important. At present, the number of affiliated degree colleges stands at 2,200 in AP and the number of institutions seeking affiliation has also shot up,” says Professor P Jaya Prakash Rao, chairman, APSCHE. “While the emphasis is on commerce and science programmes in urban centres where students aim for chartered accountancy or higher education, students from rural areas prefer arts and humanities, which help them aim for Group II services in the state service commission and BEd for job-security as a teacher.”

The fillip given to research at university-level has also led to an increase in the number of students opting for government-sponsored fellowships such as UGC-NET and CSIR-JRF and higher enrolments in PhD. “Not all students who come to university have failed competitive examinations. Given the hit and miss nature of exams like IIT-JEE, I do know a lot of students who have simply opted out. We get some of the finest students who are brilliant academically and want to make a mark in research. Universities like ours are the perfect environment for students to grow academically, and we have a clear preference. We would like our students to grow into researchers,” says Professor Ramakrishna Ramaswamy, vice-chancellor of University of Hyderabad.

However, the gap between degree and employment persists. Unless conventional courses cater to job-readiness of graduates, there will be little to deter students from opting for BE or an MBA as an ‘easy settlement’ programme. “Education does not translate to employment. The university can train a student in a particular subject but it does not guarantee a job or cater to the demands of the market,” says Mallesh.

The rush for competitive examinations does not seem to be fading any time soon, though the present trend indicates there is scope for an environment of healthy competition between conventional courses and technical programmes.

Source : New Indian Express