Polytechnic trumps engineering with lower fees, better jobs

Last academic year, engineering colleges across the state had recorded 1,40,704 students. This year, the numbers dropped to 90,000. But, what appeared to be engineering colleges’ loss is turning out to be a profit for polytechnic colleges as their number of students rose by almost 6,000.

Experts claim that it has been about five years that students have been losing interest in engineering degrees owing to the lack of employment opportunities. They added that diplomas in polytechnic courses have been gaining a lot of popularity since they open doors to a lot of job opportunities across the country. Despite producing close to one lakh engineering graduates every year, only about seven per cent of the students in Tamil Nadu get employed. The chances of getting a job, however, increases significantly for those who have a diploma in polytechnic courses.

L Arul Aram, president of Tamil Nadu Federation of University Faculty Association (TANFUFA), said, “All most all the polytechnic courses train students in skills required in industrial environments. Students are given practical classes in polytechnic colleges, unlike most of the engineering colleges that teach only conceptual and theoretical skills.” “A polytechnic mechanical student can hold a burner better than a mechanical engineering student,” said Aram.

He added that there needs to be a drastic change in the engineering education standards as it is important that undergraduate programmes ensure students get ample job opportunities.

After Class 10, if students take up polytechnic diploma, they can not only avoid studying in Classes 11 and 12, but also get the option for direct admission into second year of engineering.

S Krishnamurthy, a civil engineer and former student of a government polytechnic in Chennai, said since all the basics of engineering is taught during the diploma courses which lets the students skip first year of engineering.

“Polytechnic diploma courses give students the fundamental knowledge of the field and even the experience in practical work. In addition to that, the basic concepts of the university syllabus of engineering are covered in the diploma itself,” he said.

Krishnamurthy also pointed out that taking up a polytechnic course might be a good option for those who want to “earn while learning” as the students could get into a decent job after completing the course.

Kavitha Rajkumar, a 2014 polytechnic graduate from a private college in the city, said, “Initially, I hesitated to take up a diploma course after Class 10 rather than taking up engineering. But, after completing the course, I found that my job prospect has become better as with one year’s diploma, I am more technically sound that those who studied in Classes 11 and 12.” “It also saved me a year,” said Kavitha.

She added that industrial jobs rarely require good communication skills and it’s would be of good use to students from rural areas because of the ease with which diploma graduates get jobs.

Polytechnic courses have found favour among students from middle class families because of its fee structure which is much lower than those in engineering courses.

Even the students, who were selected in the merit list for engineering course in government colleges have to shell out between Rs 60,000 and Rs 1, 00,000 as fees, depending upon which category the candidate falls under. Private engineering colleges, however, charge double the amount.

The fees for polytechnic courses anywhere in the country, however, amount to only a few thousands.

A Karthikumar, principal of a private polytechnic college in Tambaram, said that fees in private polytechnic colleges are more or less equal with the government institutions. “At the most, there will be a difference of Rs 10,000 or Rs 15,000 for the whole course,” he said.

He also claimed that many big companies have also established their own polytechnic colleges where they teach students according to their requirements and then imbibe them into the company.

P Madhusudhanan, a student of a polytechnic college, said, “I got through Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions 2018, through Anna University, to study engineering in a city college. But since I could not pay the exorbitant fee, I took up a polytechnic diploma instead.” He also pointed out that though he had applied for Electronic Engineering, he got only Instrumentation course through counselling.

Academicians said that that if syllabus of the current engineering courses remain unchanged for ten years, it would further dent the prospects of students to land good jobs.

“The present syllabus does not suit the current industrial needs. Engineering students should undergo lots of practical training in the colleges for them to be attractive to prospective employers,” said Dr Lakshmi Kumar TV, an assistant professor of Physics.

A senior official from Higher Education Department, who is looking into collegiate education in the state, said that the decision to change the syllabus would have to be taken only by the Ministry of Human Research Development through UGC.

“The state government does not have much say in this,” he said.