VIJAYAWADA: Even as the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) gave instructions to colleges to make internship mandatory from the previous year, the higher education officials didn’t take steps to implement them. Now, the State government is planning to constitute a committee to oversee the implementation of the rule.
All government and private engineering colleges in the State , from this year, have to make internship mandatory for the students who are in third or fourth year.
The neighbouring state Telangana has successfully implemented the mandatory internship rule for all engineering students from the previous academic year. AICTE, from the academic year 2017, instructed all the college managements to make six-week internship programme mandatory in a move aimed at improving the employability skills of students.
However, neither the officials nor the colleges followed the AICTE rule in making internships mandatory. According to the officials of AP State Council for Higher Education (APSCHE), less than 20 per cent of the colleges have been following this rule. It is learnt that a large number of students are being denied internship by the private companies as their skill set is not up to the mark.
In order to overcome this embarrassment, the education department is planning to focus more on practical learning so that the students will get hands-on experience.
S Chandrasekhar, Associate Professor at a private college, said, “It has become difficult for colleges to conduct placement drives. In this situation, how can colleges arrange for internship for thier students?”
Over the years, the engineering stream has lost its sheen as majority of the pass-outs are unable to secure jobs.
Less than 70 per cent of students are able to clear BTech exams. In the academic year 2016-17, only 36 per cent of students cleared all subjects in thier first year.
In the second and third years, only 50 per cent of students cleared all papers. In the final year, the pass percentage was 65 to 70 per cent. However, only 40 percent were able to secure first class and jobs.
APSCHE Secretary S Varadarajan said, “Not many universities are following mandatory internship rule despite AICTE’s instructions. We are planning to constitute a committee to oversee the implementation of the rule. We will take feedback from the students on mandatory internship and then implement the rule within a month.”