Engineering is one of the most popular higher education streams in India and the fact that there are 6,214 technical institutions and more than 2 million students enrolled in these institutions further highlights the popularity of engineering programs in the country. Yet another important statistics when it comes to engineering education in India is that, every year, over 1.5 million graduates pass out from engineering and technology streams. Even with that being the case, an alarming fact is that, according to a 2020 talent shortage survey, 63% Indian companies report a drastic shortage of employable talent in the IT and engineering segment. Aside from this, there are multiple other studies that states that only 2.5 percent Indian engineers possess sufficient skills in AI and only 1.5 percent of Indian engineers have the adequate skills in order find employment in new-age jobs. And even with over a million graduates every year, only less than 20 percent of this group is getting employed in core engineering fields. Apart from the unemployment concerns in the country, the other primary reason behind these alarming statistics is the inability of Indian engineering institutions to create skilled talent.  

And acknowledging this issue, many pioneering engineering educators view outcome-based engineering education as one of the most effective ways to bridge the prevalent industry-academia gap in the country.  William G. Spady also known as the Father of Outcome-Based Education was a renowned psychologist and educator. He came up with the term OBE (outcome-based education) in 1988. In this educational theory, importance is given to make each facet of the education system goal/outcome oriented. This will allow the students to be more prepared for life and elevates education to more than an instrument to create graduates just for the sake of it. There are four core concepts for OBE and they are: a) clarity of focus, b) expanded opportunity, c) high expectations and d) design down. Let’s analyze why outcome-based engineering education is the need of the hour and how it can help Indian engineering graduates to not only find employment but also to compete with their international counterparts.    

Restructuring of the Curriculum

One of the primary challenges faced by many of the engineering institutes in India is imparting industry-centric education. And one of the primary facets behind this is traditional structuring of curriculums and OBE is an education model that prioritizes on the restructuring of these traditional curriculums, assessment methodologies and teaching pedagogies. Instead of focusing on the mere accumulation of programs credits, OBE prioritizes on the learning outcomes of the students. More importantly, OBE brings an attitude shift by focusing on what is learned instead of focusing on what is taught. Also, in OBE, The Course Outcome (PO), Program Outcome (CO), Program Specific Outcome (PSO) and Program Educational Objective (PEO) are clearly specified which allows for a better streamlined education system.

St. Joseph Engineering College, Mangalore, is an autonomous institution that implemented OBE in 2011 and till now, the institute has fine tuned and updated their OBE model though focused training programs and policy developments. What makes the OBE model followed by St. Joseph Engineering College unique is the fact that OBE at the college is monitored, analyzed, and guided by a group of experts from multiple arenas. These include industry professionals, parents, faculty, management and the students. Here, the institute prioritizes on what the students learn which allows them to better analyze their learning curve and make necessary changes to accelerate their growth. The meticulous effort put in by the institution in successfully implementing OBE was recognized by the NBA team who visited the campus in 2019. And four of the B.E. programs offered by St. Joseph Engineering College was given NBA accreditation till 2022 June. Aside from that, The Indo Universal Collaboration for Engineering Education (IUCEE) has recognized the institute as a transformational leader in engineering education.

Shift from Teacher-centric to Student-centric Education

In a traditional college setting, students assemble in a location to get a lecture from an instructor/teacher. After that, the students have the option to clear their queries with their peers or teachers. Apart from the fact that this educational model relies more on conventional methods, the success of this model is highly depended on the quality of the teachers and the knowledge of peers. From this teacher-centric method, OBE brings a change where the focus is to build a bespoke teaching system that prioritizes on specific outcomes. Here, the emphasis is on the skills a student should acquire at the end of their studies and more outside the classroom activities are incorporated to help the students hone their skills.   

Marian College, Kuttikkanam, Kerala is an autonomous institution where OBE was launched in 2016. Through their OBE model, the college aspires to reshape the traditional way of teaching which focuses more on the content that need to be taught, how it should be delivered to the students, and the different methods that can be used to assess them. Marian College identified that, this model is teacher-centric where the students and the actual level of skills they acquire are given second priority. From this, after the implementation of OBE, the institute shifted to a more student-centric approach where the entire curriculum was redesigned with greater emphasis given to the actual learning outcomes and helping the students to acquire new skills and develop new competencies.    

Skill-acquisitions, the need of the future      

Outcome-based education is the need of the hour in the Indian engineering education space as it will help the educators to create a student-centric education model which can make the whole learning experience more engaging for the students. And student engagement has always been a major concern for Indian engineering institutes. Owing to the apathetic teaching approach followed in many Indian engineering institutes, a recent study has found that only 40 percent of engineering graduates opt for internships while only 36 percent take up project works outside from what their program demands. Outcome-based education can bring a shift to this approach and help engineering students gain valuable skills which is crucial to get employed. Even the government is acknowledging the growing importance of skill acquisition with the Minister of Education and Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Dharmendra Pradhan stating that “The ministry will focus on creating youth who have knowledge and are employable”. The minister also added that “skilling is no longer a secondary ancillary to education in India”.