I recently came across the story of a middle aged person who was hired by an organization and given a chance to prove himself on the job. As they interviewed the candidate who was in his 30s, the HR curiously figured out that, the candidate had earlier struggled to get the right job and wasted his life on petty jobs for several years.
When the HR asked him, here is what he had to say, "I grew up with my dad's support. He used to teach me even during the college days and helped me make every important decision in life. But after his demise I felt lost and was unable to take any decision by myself which resulted in poor job choices."
This is not just one case; there are lot more such Indian students who are molded like this by our parents and the educational institutes. Being helpful should be for good, but not to make them completely dependent.
The Indian education industry is at great fault. Yes, that does not mean that in any economy all the systems are perfect and clean. But there are some learning elements, which we can adopt from the West and leave our kids to be independent decision makers. Like our Indian kids, the young successful people in the West, do not blame the scenario around them for their failure. It is said that circumstances are made by each individual. "When life gives you a lemon, learn to make lemonade!" But, somehow we are so used to complaining about the things that we have, as bitter thing "lemon", can bring tears to your eyes. We can always work towards getting water and sugar, to make lemonade. The effort has to come from each student to be industry ready.
The current industry expectations are not just about achieving higher marks in the curriculum, but to have soft skills as well as to be a great team player. Any individual who maximizes the opportunities provided by an educational institute to the optimum will survive in the future.
The cover story of current issue is an attempt to identify one such institute � Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering Chennai, which provides the cream of the best faculties and the facilities to help mold each student to be industry ready.
Stop the blame game; rather make the good or bad circumstances work in your favor.
Christo Jacob
Managing Editor
christo@thehighereducationreview.com
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