ELEGY OF AN ENGINEER

                                         

The concept of duality is omnipresent in life as is evidently shown by life and death, success and failure, sun and moon etc. Likewise when it comes down to career choices in India we have Engineering and Medicine. The society has this utterly flawed preconception that the prerequisite to any successful career is to have graduated in either of them. Times are slowly changing and it’s heart-warming to see students courageously following their dreams and doing wonders but still, it’s a long way to go.

The education system is so flawed that it is easier to point out its flaws than its pros but all we can do about is to talk and write about it just like I am doing right now. They say knowledge is power and ignorance is bliss but those people who are in-charge of the education system are ignorant of their responsibilities and yet experience bliss. The loss is for everyone but the people who decide the quality of our education skilfully manoeuvre so as to escape the curse that has befallen us. Though institutions are increasing by the day, quality of education falls flat. Institutions with poor infrastructure and unqualified faculty nowhere near to even a school get easy certification and ruin the lives of aspiring students with low-standard education and the lives of the students’ parents with exorbitant costs.

 Engineering is the most famous trap for those ignorant innocent students passing 12^th board exams. Most students choose their stream of education either from familial opinions and societal pressure. Even some of the students who have acted in their own self-interest now hate themselves the reason being that what they thought was an oasis was actually a mirage. In an age where new technologies are being developed rapidly, we are still stuck studying outdated technologies. The concept of assigning marks based on attendance has been the greatest innovation in the education system for it has been the sole reason for many students attending classes and that pure thrill we get when we learn something new seldom happens here.

The ultimate goal of most engineering colleges is to have an unblemished placement record and for most engineering students it is to secure a job in campus placement. This is because they are fed the idea that the world outside is a harsh unforgiving place that is not very keen on providing them with a job. Though safe, we are being led into being shunned from a world of myriad opportunities. Some people survive the scare and explore their potential outside the dimensions of a job which has resulted in a number of successful start-ups. After working some time in a job, some people want to pursue higher education and some people want to pursue other areas of interest but mostly they won’t, owing to the incessant pressure and nil free time to enhance life outside the workplace. The point is that these values and skills to make vital decisions, manage life, pursue non-mainstream opportunities etc., should be taught and honed in colleges but most colleges don’t even acknowledge these as a trait that needs to be developed in each and every student.

The education provided anywhere in the world is available for free in the Internet. Still the sole reason students are pursuing their areas of interest in institutions is because of the world’s desperate obsession with proof i.e. certification. Many students have resorted to self-learning so as to not rely on the syllabus to aid their self-enhancement. Most students graduating from engineering, though certified by the respective institution as an engineer, have really not learnt the skill in the true sense of the word. With generations of students having passed and generations yet to come, there may be change or there may not but there really is no conclusion to this because like Robert Frost summed up life: “It goes on”.

A NIRMAL HENRY PERSPECTIVE

(III Year CSE, SSNCE)