THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: When Kerala threw open the floodgates of higher education to the self-financing sector over a decade-and-a- half ago, it was established names in the field of education that made forays into the newly-charted path. By 2008-09, some fly-by-night trusts and societies entered the sector, leading to the mushrooming of engineering colleges in every nook and cranny of the state. While some of the colleges have now downed shutters, a majority of the institutions are struggling to survive. The students have hit the breaking point as the pressure of the breakneck competition is passed on to them.
The result: Engineering colleges are turning into concentration camps and students stifled with draconian rules and regulations. According to Prof K Sasikumar, academic and past president of the Kerala Self-financing Engineering College Management Association (KSFECMA), not all self-financing colleges should be seen as villains. Dungeons of discipline? Once a parent decides to send his ward to a self-financing college, the first priority would be to ensure admission in a college known for enforcement of strict discipline.
“What the parents often forget is that discipline begins at home. They believe that by securing an admission in a self-financing engineering college and paying the fees, their job is over. Providing all kinds of freedom at home and then expecting the student to follow discipline on campus is so unreal,” says Sasikumar. However, not all academics agree to the strict insistence on discipline. According to A Jayakrishnan, former vice-chancellor of Kerala University and presently professor at IIT Madras, “policing” will have a negative impact on the students. “Colleges should not impose too much restrictions on the students. This will only bring down their morale and enthusiasm. With the lowering of eligibility criteria for admission, the quality of students pursuing engineering courses has deteriorated.
Such restrictions will only make matters worse,” he said. The senior academic also had a warning for parents. “It is high time that parents realise whether their children are actually suited for engineering education. By forcing them t o pursue engineering, you create not only a set of bad engineers but also bad individuals in the society,” he warned. Shortage of faculty According to self-financing college managements, the quality of faculty in their member colleges is up to the mark but staff shortage woes exist for senior posts.
“Though M Tech graduates are available for the post of assistant professors, getting qualified faculty in the associate professor and professor levels is a tough task,” admits KSFECMA secretary K G Madhu. In the wake of complaints that most of the faculty members were underpaid, KTU had deputed a high-level committee to monitor the implementation of the AICTE guidelines. “It is learned some self-financing institutions still do not confirm to norms relating to pay-scale of faculty. The University would act tough on such institutions if complaints are brought to our notice,” said KTU vice chancellor Kuncheria P Isaac.