The Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertakings (CICU) on Tuesday warned the state government against the poor quality of education being imparted at engineering colleges, saying that it was hampering industrial growth. In a statement issued here on Tuesday, CICU president Upkar Singh Ahuja said, “With admissions beginning in engineering colleges, we are watching advertisements on television and print media which are aimed at attracting youngster to join colleges and institutes. The US is a $16-trillion economy and produces 1 lakh engineers per year. Whereas, India is a $2-trillion economy and produces more than 15 lakh engineers a year. After getting degrees, 30% of them (engineering graduates in India) get suitable jobs, with the manufacturing sector being the mass recruiter. However, due to a record slowdown in the industry, intake is almost nil. The technology sector is also slow,” he said
Ahuja added that the World Bank had also raised a red flag over the poor quality of engineering education imparted in India and South Asian countries. He said there were 257 engineering colleges in Punjab. “The theoretical knowledge imparted at these colleges is very poor, faculties are not paid well and mostly inexperienced professors are teaching students. High-quality workshops are required for practical knowledge. Workshops have outdated machinery and equipment. All these are just showpieces and are not even operational at times,” he said.
(Source – Times Of India)
