Bhalessa Reportings: Placement Services in Universites- a Far Fetched Dream

IN THE current scenario, technical education determines the development and socio-economic condition of a nation. There is a greater need of quality technical education to produce technically skilled manpower. The process of liberlisation has changed the rules of the game for the business and policy leaders around the world.

The era of globalisation is not only inviting foreign capital but also foreign technology in India. Since the early eighties, due to rapid industrialisation and economic growth, engineering and technical education has been developing in India at a faster pace than anywhere else in the world. India now has the second largest number of engineering students in the world.

The most important economic challenge that India is facing low per capita income. In this environment, the lure of better growth policy is compelling. In addition, it is believed that the rapid change of technological renovation was fostered by an education system that provided the essential input and steady flow of people trained in the state-of-the-art scientific methods in their area of specialisation. If this interpretation of our recent past is correct, it is not wrong to say that industry relies heavily on polished diamonds coming out of various varsities.

It is not wrong to say that in the last five or six years, the innovation policy in India has completely ignored the structure of institutions especially with regard to government institutions. The top down direction of the curriculum is a blot upon our public education system. University education does not necessarily prepare the youth for life. Also, there is no guarantee of a job after a university degree. We require an entire spectrum of skilled man power.

In this process, India is also killing budding entrepreneurs who can bring significant shift in the economic stance of the country in Asia and the world at large.

The point here is that performance regarding placement cell is different between government-run institutions and private institutions. Despite so many students looking for jobs, the placement scenario is absurdly poor. Part of the problem is that most educational institutions in the state have no placement cell to keep track of placement statistics.

Though it is a matter of pride that private institutes have also started churning out industry moulded graduates. Private institutions usually have tie-ups with big companies and often industry experts are called upon to deliver lecture to students. It’s a fact that rich people can only afford private institutes, and jobs simply fly into their arms. But the fact is more than half of India is comprised of the middle class and poor section. The cost of studying in such colleges is a nightmare for them. Besides, they get subsidised rates in government higher education institutes. The superficiality of impartiality and non-permanence of teaching staff is quite evident in government-run institutes. So, expecting a placement cell seems a far-fetched dream.

Not everybody has the capacity to go outside their state to study or get loads of dollar bills to fund their education. Providing students with facilities of faculty and placement cells has become an important measure of giving quality education. In such a case, it is important to know the desires and demands of students that are expected out of good professional colleges. The need of the hour for any institution is to produce industry groomed manpower. Who will regulate the entire spectrum ? Who will do this ? Who will bell the cat? And who will be the responsible to monitor the arena? These questions need to be answered.

In order to meet the demands of the changing labour market, IDA supported India’s long-term program of reforms in the middle level technical education system dealing with training of technicians/supervisors. The policy reforms exhorted increased participation of women, tribal communities, handicapped, rural youth and other disadvantaged groups in technical education through formal and non-formal education and training.

The IDA’s total investment in the three projects has been about US $700 million with IDA funding of about US $530 million. The rest was contributed by the states and the Government of India. IDA support played a catalytic role in expediting implementation of National Policy of Education reforms. In particular, IDA promoted introduction of new relevant programs, and increased women’s participation by supporting the establishment of 33 women’s polytechnics, hostel facilities for women, and appointment of women faculty.

Institutions need to make their syllabus more vocationally oriented so as to groom, nurture and develop the talent in a proper fashion, catering to the needs of the industries. A dynamic and pro-active placement cell needs to be created in every institution to keep a track of all the placings of its students and to attract good industries. The student engineers should be encouraged to attend technical seminars, workshops leadership training and should be made aware of the latest developments in technologies and its impact on business. Equal importance should be given to the communication skills of students for clear expresion of ideas.

With private sector institutions leaving no stones unturned in providing the best possible openings to their products, it becomes all the more important for the government aided institutions to reinvigorate themselves to meet the added challenge of better placement. A student placed according to his area of interest will automatically ensure the growth of the industry and his institution. The need of the hour is that the educational institutes take to the training and placement facilities more seriously and scientifically.

Liberalisation of the Indian economy, its gradual integration with the world economy and rapid transformation into a knowledge-based society will be increased only when we master workforce that is not only literate and has mastered specific skills. The government run institutions should be monitored and regulated by advisory committees like University Grant Commission (UGC), National Board of Accreditation (NBA), Medical Council of India (MCI), Distance Education Council (DEC) and other apex bodies of the Government of India.

The author is a freelance columnist based in Jammu and Kashmir and can be contacted at

sadaketmalik@rediffmail.com