Hyderabad: With 80 per cent of the engineers in our country found not eligible for jobs according to the Annual Employability Survey, professors state that apart from the rehaul that the system of higher education requires, it is also essential to polish candidates’ skills from the school level rather than at the tail end.
The survey, which has been carried out for nine years now, has found that apart from a handful of students, a majority of them require a brushing up of skills in communication, presentation, and techniques, as they are not in tune with the industry.
While AI has been around since the 80s, it had not even been brought up about until very recently. And although the subject is in vogue now, to possess those skills require training at the college level which is yet to be updated.
The survey has found that only 2.5 per cent of the total candidates possess technological skills.
Professor G.V.K. Reddy said, “The degree college comprises only three years of actual teaching as one year goes into doing internships and projects. Students are targeted towards clearing entry-level exams from a very young age. As a result of this, when they graduate to the college level, they still have to work on building basic skills like presentation, communication, and even grooming, which is not possible over a short span of time.”
“Students’ admission is another concern,” explained another professor who pointed out that those who belong to the category of students that pay for seats are often found not to be interested in the field and are there because of the pressure from their peers or community.
A senior professor explained, “Our system of admissions does not reward merit only, and this has been our biggest drawback. Due to this, our system has not managed to make it on par with that of the rest of the world. The environment in universities and colleges has to change, only then will they become the source that the industries want them to become.”
