Placement & Education: Wake up Call …

“The purpose of a B-school is to impart learning and not just to place a student. But come placement season and students’ attention is taken away from learning,”

........K Mamkoottam, new dean of Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), Delhi University.

This is true and valid for each institute may it be the Engineering college or a management institute. This is a catch 22 situation for all. On one side their admissions depend on the placement record and placement record depends on the quality of education and students. Many institutes are doing many things to build the placement record leaving the academic side of education aside.

I have seen institutes using their entire female student force to make calls to various corporate houses just to invite them for placements and the male student force to drop placement brochures. I remember I received 30 or more calls from the same institute and 12 brochures. The entire last six months starting from the mid of the 3rd sem is focussed on placement. This is a story of a B-/ C grade institute which takes more than 1000 students in different institutes (under the same group). Students are promised a placement with god knows what figures of past placements. Ultimately the placement record is dismal. The average salary of whatever mentioned at the time of placement is nowhere there and the numbers are bad. I guess this the same story across.

I sympathise with Mr. Mamkoottam, but i sympathise more with the students who keep a blind faith on the HUGE color adverts of the institutes for admissions.

Unfortunately our education systems hasn't got it yet. There seems to be no or limited linkage of academics to the job/occupation and a career. Outcome of education is just shelved under the carpet and shown as degrees earned and not employment. Very few institutes do talk occupations, careers, employment, life long learning in real sense. Its not understood by student what waiting for them at the end of their education. Educational institute have become a degree churning factories. By the way they also agree.

Why are we unable to do anything. Today's news was a sad one. Over 100 students of the Air Hostess Academy (AHA) gathered in front of the institute office on JM road, Pune on Monday protesting against the management for not providing them employment and certificates on completion of the course. Large number of police guarded the premises of the academy to avoid any untoward incident. Meanwhile, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) also came to the academy and demanded action against the management. Parents of students, also present on the spot, demanded action.

I guess this shouldn't happen to the so called management institutes/engineering colleges who charge in lakhs luring students on their displayed placement percentage. We calculated the investment of a student for MBA, its turns out to be anywhere between 10 lakhs to 16 lakhs. I am sure one day parents are going to questions, if not parents the students would certainly question. Also this will take a POLITICAL turn and will get into a complicated mess if don't tackle it NOW. Last time MNS took a huge political mileage in Pune by saying that there's no marathi manoos in the MBA institutes.. now it will be for no placements.

Sometime back we wrote about how admissions are done in Pune, people are waiting in queues to get their kids admitted with even paying below the table money. Institutes boast of people waiting in queue for admissions, but this may not be for long. Thanks to my favourite Mr.Kapil Sibal, theres going to be a flurry of institutes and central universities lined up to increase access for education all over India. Tomorrow if its IIT Ranchi Vs Sinhagad engineering college, it will obviously be the choice of IIT Ranchi than any xyz college in Pune.

Wake up institutes.Take these actions before its too late. Build Career Development Programs: Its important to build career planning and development programs as a part of curriculum. Build employability capabilities among students: Help students build employability capabilities so that job search and employment looks easy. Link Education to Outcome: Its important for the institute to help the students internalise their academic efforts to what career they plan to pursue.

LiveJournal Tags: Dheya,Employability,Placement,Management Institutes,Protests,FMS,Engineering Colleges