CHENNAI: Worried over the poor placements in state universities, the higher education department has now decided to strengthen the placement cell in the varsities and monitor its performance.
The higher education department officials will now conduct regular meetings and video conferences with placement officers, registrars and even controllers of examinations to guide, improve and review the placement-related developments.
Expressing concern over the poor placements, higher education secretary C Samayamoorthy has urged varsity officials to identify employment sectors in regions surrounding the universities and their affiliated colleges and to provide training to students in those sectors and improve their placements.
“Various kinds of industries are coming up in the districts. Keeping in mind the skills required by the industries, we can train our students accordingly and help them bag jobs. The varsities just need to identify the skills required in the region and Naan Mudhalvan will help in training the students,” a senior higher education department official told TNIE.
University officials have also been directed to identify students with arrears in their final semesters and enable them clear their arrears in the subsequent attempt so that they get placed. The department has already issued a circular to help the slow learners and with this fresh direction the varsities have been asked to provide special attention to them.
Higher education department officials said though Naan Mudhalvan scheme provides an array of training programmes, the universities and affiliated colleges are not implementing the scheme properly and not deriving benefit from it.
“In many universities, it has been noticed that permanent faculties are not getting involved in the implementation of Naan Mudhalvan scheme. We need to implement the scheme in full spirit to make our students industry ready and employable,” the official added. He further stated that the commissioner of collegiate education has been entrusted with the duty to ensure participation of permanent teaching faculties in the faculty development programme of Naan Mudhalvan.
The varsities have also been directed to ensure that students are given proper guidance on job opportunities, internships, higher studies and research options available in their subject during the course period so that they can make correct choice regarding careers.