My disenchantment with my Indian education

[hitraj]

Not all quota students come from humble background.I have seen children of IAS,judges,govt servants who also avail quota inspite of coming from high class family.Why did president daughter NK Narayan try to avail reservation ? He is suppose to be the first man of india and still his daugters claim backwardness in enjoying benefits

[vsudhu]

OP has generalized about Indian Education based on the school / college that he/she attended. OP should understand college is for giving broad based education, not teach them one or two courses that would get them a job as a software programmer. Teaching one or two languages is what NIIT does. If OP had complained just about her college, i dont have any issues. Saying "Indian Education System" is bad and
the "whole Indian College Education sucks" is taking generalization to the extreme to the point of it being ridiculous .

College education is not just in the labs and faculty. The kind of students it admits , evaluation methods, extra curricular activities, industry interfacing, teaching methods all determine the quality. Lots of colleges in India may not have the best of faculties, but still you do find good professors in several colleges who took teaching by choice and not because they were out of options. There are so many colleges in US where under grad study is just a time pass. It is no better than some poor private college in India. It is our typical "Grass is greener on the other side" thinking.

If we had access to decent library , good books for syllabus , at least a few good professors then we must be thankful. Did the college education give you the confidence if not the knowledge when you enter industry ? If yes, then we should be grateful. Can the system be better ? Of course yes.

When we are taking an Ivy league for comparison from here, let us take an IIT, when we are talking of good US state colleges let us compare them with REC's / NIT. If you want to compare education of "kongu" college let us compare it with "Scranton College of Technology".

In all Indian States, there are at least a few government run colleges which are good. If we do not make it to one of these colleges and end up with the rest ( which is in majority) , then can you fault the government solely ?

[Bobus]

Not all quota students come from humble background.I have seen children of IAS,judges,govt servants who also avail quota inspite of coming from high class family.Why did president daughter NK Narayan try to avail reservation ? He is suppose to be the first man of india and still his daugters claim backwardness in enjoying benefits[/quote]

For that one has to understand the rationale of reservations in India, which has to do with providing adequate representation to disadvantaged groups, something many who dont like reservation either dont understand or do not seem to want to. :) Feel free to pursue in one of the reservations threads, after perusing the contents of at least one of them properly.

[Bobus]

OP has generalized about Indian Education based on the school / college that he/she attended. OP should understand college is for giving broad based education, not teach them one or two courses that would get them a job as a software programmer. Teaching one or two languages is what NIIT does. If OP had complained just about her college, i dont have any issues. [/quote]

Why if? Please go thru original post properly and quote parts of it where OP has generalized from her experience.

Saying "Indian Education System" is bad and the "whole Indian College Education sucks" is taking generalization to the extreme to the point of it being ridiculous . [/quote]

I am on record, that Indian college education, by and large, sucks.

Try clicking on the following and reading them. :)

Some links

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4793311.stm

http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20080807152309578

http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/India_ranks_second_last_in_Quality_Education-nid-50034.html/1/1

http://www.stanford.edu/~weiler/Texts07/Notes_on_Indian_Higher_Education.pdf[/quote]

When we are taking an Ivy league for comparison from here, let us take an IIT, when we are talking of good US state colleges let us compare them with REC's / NIT. If you want to compare education of "kongu" college let us compare it with "Scranton College of Technology".[/quote]

Ivy league and IITs is a story of contrast, not comparison. Many confuse the tough JEE and the talented B.Tech admits with quality of institution and throughput, which is different from input.

[VS007]

Originally Posted by hitraj 					 				
 				Not all quota students come from humble background.I have seen children of IAS,judges,govt servants who also avail quota inspite of coming from high class family.Why did president daughter NK Narayan try to avail reservation ? He is suppose to be the first man of india and still his daugters claim backwardness in enjoying benefits

For that one has to understand the rationale of reservations in India, which has to do with providing adequate representation to disadvantaged groups, something many who dont like reservation either dont understand or do not seem to want to. :) Feel free to pursue in one of the reservations threads, after perusing the contents of at least one of them properly.[/quote]


This was one aspect that was not explored in the OP's blog. Had she been blessed in being born in a reserved category, she could have attended a much better college, but I am sure her opinions of Indian education would have still remained the same, which in my opinion is not far from truth.

[vsudhu]

Why if? Please go thru original post properly and quote parts of it where OP has generalized from her experience. [/quote]

OP has stated "I am where I am inspite of my Indian govt. given education " , If she had mentioned her college sucked, i dont have any qualms

I am on record, that Indian college education, by and large, sucks. [/quote]

"By and Large" is a relative term. Some (or many) colleges suck, that does not mean all are bad. Same is the case in US too..there are several that suck.

Ivy league and IITs is a story of contrast, not comparison. Many confuse the tough JEE and the talented B.Tech admits with quality of institution and throughput, which is different from input [/quote]

I have not seen any literature to the effect that there is a question about the throughput at IIT.

Western countries have the luxury to have their education system focus on research, arts, humanities and even sports. Developing countries cannot afford to do that. In a country like India, the idea is that that education reaches the mass. So the focus is more on quantity and giving a "decent" education, not a world class one. Still as i said before, there are a few good colleges everywhere and if one did well they can always get in to those universities and colleges.

[R2I-2019]

[QUOTE]

I am on record, that Indian college education, by and large, sucks.

My college was very well funded, had good equipments and curriculum. It taught me latest technologies and latest designs. I am here partly with help from college. My college was no exception, there are tons of colleges like mine. There is long list of REC, state colleges all over the country. Now to get into these colleges you have to be really smart and work very hard. In comparison my college in US sucked big time.

As far as ranking is concerned, most of it is based on research output of college. In a country where almighty dollar is everybody's dream (that is why we are here) it is no surprise that very little focus is on research. In US and other developed countries most research is funded by government. Where are the resources to focus on research in India? Do you wanna feed massive population where farmers are dying everyday or fund research? These are tough choices to make.

[QUOTE]
Ivy league and IITs is a story of contrast, not comparison. Many confuse the tough JEE and the talented B.Tech admits with quality of institution and throughput, which is different from input.


There are so many graduates from IIT who are very highly regarded all over the world and in India. There are tons of doctors from very well reputed colleges in India who are known all over the world for their skills. This just seems to be your opinion.

[rajubiztech]

My disenchantment with and lack of gratitude for my Indian education

(blog/article to explain some of my other posts, and also a general expression of views best left unsaid.... Warning: looooong, boring…..
[/quote]

Good title to attract attention


regarding your back ground info its same old story of a middle class family nothing new, but good narration decribing your diffucult times and how you successfully over come those

We don’t come under any special quota or castes. So, I join the best branch of engineering I can get into
[/quote]


I am not sure there was any reservation for women candidates(I am assuming you are women looking at your profile) at your time of education

That college gave me the legal right to put B.E. in my resume. That is it. For that, I cannot bring myself to be thankful to it or the government or India. I was instead bitter for a while at having to pursue an “education” I saw no point in and was not really interested in
[/quote]

I am not sure that B.E. "degree" helped you in any way to get to USA

Now, am I yet another ungrateful motherland criticizing person? I like to think not. I am grateful to my mother and father for doing the best with their limited resources and knowledge. I am grateful to my neighbor(senior) who lent me some Engineering entrance notes (5 yrs old) just 1 week before the entrance exam. To this neighbor I give my thanks each time I visit India, without fail. I am glad the government school and college system was predictable enough for me to game it. I knew I had to get that B.E. degree, and by hook or crook or whatever, I got it.
[/quote]


What you think matters as long as you don't care about others opinion(Works well in USA might not work in poor country like India).


Good, you are greatfull to so many people. It looks like you can acheive what you want by hook or crook. Even though you got a paper degree, government has spent substantial amount of money, hoping that smart people like you will help the sytem to get better. I am assuming you might be contributing to change the system so that the people studying in govt schools will not go through the same difficulties as you.

Computer course to the rescue: By then the software craze had started. NIIT etc were mushrooming everywhere. That was too expensive. Joined another cheaper smaller computer institute (not government funded!). Finished some less than 1 year long course that taught C, Database fundamentals, Computer Networks, COBOL,that is it. That helped me get a decent paying job. Then, completely by chance, through a friend of a friend, happened to apply to a bodyshopping company, then H1, and to the U.S. Am I thankful to the computer institute? You bet. That course and the dedicated instructors changed my life. I still keep in touch with some of the instructors, and they are next to my parents almost.
[/quote]


thats the difference between private and government. as soon as you start paying the institute some money then every one will be dedicated.
I am not sure the body shopper put the paper degree called "B.E." in youe resume to apply for your H1B

In the U.S.: Went the regular route, H1 with desi consulting company. Then, the usual story – marriage, GC, house, kids. Happened to be in the right company, and happened to be in the U.S. at one right time, made some $$.

There. I have skipped many other painful details where I faced discrimination and limited opportunities in India due to being a female. Given this background, I find it hard, if not impossible to be thankful to the government or my motherland for my education. I am thankful to the persons who helped me understand the importance of a profitable education, helped me get that coveted admission into Eng’g college, convinced me not to go into Literature (I wanted to), that computer institute, that desi consulting company(and the crooks in it), my first few consulting assignments in the U.S. where my supervisors patiently mentored me (even though I was just a “contractor”), but, I do not ever find myself thankful for the “education” I received courtesy Indian government funds.

Cheers![/quote]

To be blunt majority of us(consider some exceptions)think that we are really smart comming to US and making pretty good money. I think we are really lucky to be in the work force at the right time(globalisation has opened up so many opportunities for all us)


Very few people are exceptional and stand out the group



I will appreciate if you can write, what you did for others or did some thing to change the inefficient system"

[R2I-2019]

I will appreciate if you can write, what you did for others or did some thing to change the inefficient system"[/quote]

That is exactly what I am waiting for in this debate. There are two groups one blaming the system ("stating the facts") and other defending it. I am yet to see any constructive ideas that would outline the problems and creative solutions given the constraints in Indian system.

[Bobus]

That is exactly what I am waiting for in this debate. There are two groups one blaming the system ("stating the facts") and other defending it. I am yet to see any constructive ideas that would outline the problems and creative solutions given the constraints in Indian system.[/quote]

Change starts with acknowledgement of bad quality, not sweeping it under the carpet. To state that something sucks, one does not have to have a solution.