A few days ago, I met one of my professors and we were discussing the education system in the country. We talked about the progress being made by ISRO and how students are selecting varied streams as their career option now, which were not existent few years ago.
He was quite excited to discuss the new areas which are emerging for the students to explore their talents and skills. Definitely, in the past 5 years, several new fields have emerged which were never thought of before.
However, one thing really stuck in my mind, when he sarcastically said, “Engineering colleges these days have become acting schools and a place to nurture stand-up comedians.”
Well, to be frank, I am not against artistic talent and I am sure even my professor was not. I am a big fan of some of the stand-up comedians who have evolved from engineering colleges and I watch web series of actors who have studied engineering from prestigious colleges.
No doubt, they are gifted and have finally got a platform to showcase it. I would say that they are courageous to explore new opportunities and land on a platform which provides them satisfaction and gives them a way to keep learning while enjoying their life.
But, still the questions remain, are engineering colleges failing in India? Do they have no value in engineering?
Students from premiere IIT colleges are also taking up diverse career fields, far removed from what they studied in their respective colleges.
Some of the colleges are in fact being funded by the government and take up a large section of education budget that is allocated.
Is the whole scenario not defying economics of the country? If the country keeps spending on engineering education for students who were actually meant for artistic pursuits, then whose loss is this?
It’s simply tax payers’ loss and in turn the country’s loss.
Even after all this, we cry that there is not much innovation in the country. When our country keeps spending money for the wrong reasons, then how can it grow?
Definitely, if these students who are now popular actors and stand-up comedians had not taken admission in IIT and would have directly entered the artistic field, they would have faced fewer struggles.
Also, instead of spending money on engineering, if they were given an education in entrepreneurship, that would have helped them to start something on their own.
However, another question arises, did these students know what their skills were? Were they ever motivated for engineering?
Definitely, the answer is NO!
If, these students were given career guidance in the beginning of their career, they could have shaped it quite nicely from the beginning. They might have faced lesser struggles and they could have brought the content well before in time.
It’s highly probable that when these people were not content with engineering, they might have been frustrated during their time in college. Had they been advised and motivated from the beginning to do what they were made for, they could have directed their energy in the right direction.
It is really exciting to know when these talented artistic people defy all the societal norms and listen to their skills and talents, but there are still several more engineers who are killing their ambitions behind corporate jobs and societal pressure.
These days, people have made a tradition out of enrolling for engineering first and in the next four years, the student decides what he wants to do. This is not just the wastage of talent but also of time and money which can never be returned!
I am proud of the talents that have been shown by some of the engineers and I hope in future, we can provide our children an atmosphere where they can be made aware enough to select their career at the right time instead of first investing in engineering and then selecting their career field.