KOCHI: With computer engineering courses gaining popularity, the number of students applying for Master of Computer Application (MCA) is diminishing year by year, according to office-bearers of the Association of Self Financing Technology (MCA) institutions of Kerala (ASTIK) .
MCA, once considered to be a prestigious PG qualification which opened doors for many into the IT industry, was pushed down in the list of priority, mainly because of the course duration. MCA is the only course which has a three-year course duration. There are not even 1,000 students for a total of 6,000 seats offered by 56 technical institutions in the state.
“The All India Council for Technical Education did not consider the demand raised by ASTIK to reduce course duration to two years. If this situation continues, MCA- offering technology institutions in Kerala will have to stop the course, which will be beneficial for colleges in other states,” Nayar said. MCA education sector in the state which involves a total investment of `560 crore, provides employment to 3,500 people directly and 1,000 indirectly. “It may be recalled that despite the large number of engineering graduates, those who studied MCA get job placements soon as software sector always looks out for MCA holders,” he said.
Meanwhile, Jowel V Joy, a former IT employee points out there were many reasons for diminishing popularity of MCA, the most important one among them being that the syllabus of the course was not upgraded according to the changes in technology sector. “These changes were important to the extent that it decided qualification of candidates. Course duration and high fees are also other reasons. Another important factor is that a diploma holder with two-three years of experience is capable of doing the task assigned to an MCA holder also,” points out Jowel, who works as a network engineer with an IT company in Chennai.
The government should stop its step-motherly approach and conduct the entrance as early as possible,” Nayar said.