Be wary of non-accredited engg colleges, says ex-VC of Anna University
Chennai: Alerting the students not to select non-accredited engineering colleges for UG courses, Anna University’s former Vice-Chancellor M.Anandakrishnan said, “Students from these colleges will find it difficult either to get jobs or to pursue higher education in overseas.” He said this while releasing the golden jubilee issue of ‘Tech Times’, a journal for engineers at Anna University on Thursday.
“Of 560 engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu, only 50 colleges have got the NBA accreditation. Someone has to inform the public and the children about the inadequacies we find in non-accredited engineering colleges,” he said after releasing the journal.
Pointing out recent developments, he said, “Employers from the US are demanding that software companies employ engineering graduates from accredited institutions. Many embassies have changed their visa regulations so that only the students from accredited institutions will get the visa to pursue higher education in their countries. Our students should be aware of this while selecting the colleges for under-graduation courses,” he stressed.
Further, he said, “In TN, each year 1.5 lakh engineering graduates are coming out of the colleges. Probably 30,000 to 40,000 students are getting employed every year. But, the remaining students will be either unemployed or underemployed.”
Terming unemployment as the time bomb waiting to be exploded he said, “Entrepreneurship can provide the solution to the problem if we turn students as job creators instead of job seekers. We should give the confidence to the students during their second or third year to start their own venture,” he suggested.
He wants 300 to 400 engineering colleges in the state to close down. He said it is impossible to create 1.5 lakh jobs for engineering graduates each year. “The unemployment or underemployment will be a permanent issue,” he said. P.Narayanasamy, dean, College of Engineering, Guindy, Professor M.Sadasivam, editor, Tech Times and others participated in the function.
