Incredible debate: Those education institutes/ universities, which can't place students or make job/work ready, should be closed.
Please note:
There is Yes side supporting should be closed.
There is No side which feel not to be closed.
In this incredible debate, there were more questions raised than, laws, policies and systems, and course contents and skill development. There were more jokes from both the sides than actual comments. How one hour was over none, including myself, realized it until the next lecture Professor got in.
Yes. Reasons:
Candidate 1. There are 500000 students studying in some Universities in India, most of them are not placed, isn't it responsibility of UGC, Universities and AICTE and BAR council and .......MCI....to develop such courses that all students are job or entrepreneurship ready. First these bodies should be closed....(Again, there was huge laugh) .
Candidate 2. No government in the world wants truly literate and enlightened souls, they just want to run their government machinery and hence they themselves create bottlenecks in the education systems itself, right from the start.
Candidate 3. Sir, there are at least 1 million students in India, who are studying in dilapidated Municipal corporation schools or in villages where even proper toilet/ sanitation is not there. Why not Education Ministers send their children in such schools, in fact why it's not compulsory to all government employees to let them learn their children and grand children in such government schools then only some good things would happen. (There was huge laugh again). Then these children if study hard go to colleges and university, and can't cope up with course and skills development at a time and can't get placed.
Candidate 4. Sir, there are so many holes ad moles, in the system, that, everything can't be alright and perfect as we think. Look at our University, 95% students get placed as they clear the exams on time and with sufficient CGPA. Rest 5% are either having backlog or some mishap and hence can't get placed every-year. Though we're having profound system developed by you being leader and others. We've systems and procedures. Just go to any other University, they don't have even regular lectures, payment system to full time Professors sometimes they don't get payment for 3 months, also, even if Professors teach, most of the times they are asked to compete the course than real teaching. Where is real teaching there?
Candidate 5. There are students who have knack of business, but, if they come with some idea, due to lack of incubation centers in the education institute, which have been minting money since last few years, as they are mostly hold by either politicians or shrewd businessmen they don't let such things grow and just teach and let students flush out of the system. (Again many laughed).
Candidate 6. Sir, Competition and Reservation policy can't go hand in hand, with due respect to all. Let people be selected according to their skills and we should have such different schools/ institutes/ universities. Skills and skillful people are unlimited, problems is with our government system which can't utilize these people.
Candidate 7 (Added). Sir, even public and private companies and UNO and World Bank kinds of organisations also don't have eyes to hire such talents. Many seniors have fear of losing job, they are not like you, who let others grow in front of yourself make your own position....unstable, (Everyone laughed), Sir we've seen how you groomed us and even your subordinates and juniors and we've seen how friendly you are with one and all. Everyone is not like that.
Candidate 8. If, they can't place, then why do they run the institutes? Sir, we've a case where, a student have better understanding for business and academics than the whole panel interviewing him, the panel didn't have courage to say that, but he couldn't get placed anywhere due to 'over-qualification' (All laughed). We told him to tone down, but, he can't change his over qualification which is reflected from his each action and behavior and well behaved talks unlike all of us (All laughed).
Candidate 9. Sir, placement procedure, hiring procedure, education system, skill development procedure...there are so many things between cup and tea of placement (All laughed). As you said, you have seen even IIT degree photo copy was thrown in the dust-been as the employer wanted a person just to do the job than showing his high funda.....it's true with many companies. Transparency and best employment awards, etc. are just show offs....sir, these companies have different teeth to show and to eat (All laughed for almost 1/2 minute). What skills have to be developed Sir? I'm from business family and we know, how all these systems are having holes and moles (All laughed for a minute). In fact, no university should have more than 5000 students, and no institutes should have more than say 500 to 1000 students, and for each 10 students should have at least 1 Professor/ Skill Trainer, then only the system can work, provided all show their integrity. (Everyone clapped at this point).
Candidate 10. Sir, you're teaching in private university, hence, you don't know. You go to the University classroom in .....and you'll find....no students...no teachers....no...this ....no that...then how can .... (Lot of people laughed). Sir, why can't such universities be closed? Why not blind visits are there from Compliance Bodies of the Government and closed such institutes at the spot and divert/ed students and faculty and staff to other well functioning places? (Everyone clapped).
Candidate 11. Why overkill, Sir? IIT and IIM and AIIMS are brands of India, why are we killing it by over-killing it? No more, words Sir. (Everyone laughed at this language).
Candidate 12. Sir, how many Professors have daring to speak frankly and try to note and publish both sides of the coin, except you (Everyone laughed) {I said, "Man it's not daring it's about putting both sides of the coin and trying to understand and let understand. Balancing act is important for all literate people so that they can take wise decision after knowing truth/s, facts and figures. (Everyone clapped at this point). } If we get such Professors, who really teach us what are the jobs that we are going to do and job train us like you, and then we practice here itself, and learn our subject as well then only we'll have real skill development. Sir. what ever you're doing in one class it takes 100 classes for other Professors to do....{I said, "Please no more buttering}.....(All laughed)... No sir, its a fact. People have institutes like soft skill institutes, finishing schools and they charge Rs. 100000 per candidate and you do it free of cost....we wont' get such broad minded Professor in entire our lives....(All students clapped). We require such professors even within prescribed limits of the course structure/ syllabus, who develop skills of their students. People keep blaming, we blame and we're still in favor of closing such universities, but, as you are here, and our university places almost 95% students we can't close it. (All laughed again.).
Candidate 13. Sir, we read your chapter Skill development and we liked ITI students development, IIT students development, Post Graduate and Ph.D. students development part of it in your book "Indigenisation the only way for Sustainable Development of India/ Every nation." It's really good that people like you publish freely and alert others for this and then governments take actions. Yes, Sir, we're confident your Ph.D. Thesis was read by many or at least book base on it....Also, you're doer Sir, but, credit will be taken by some government person by steeling this idea and telling it to PM and then ....." (Everyone laughed). {I said, "Happening is more important than taking credit. God knows who is who. Just t o tell you in 1992, I suggested Mumbai Local Train Authorities to have over the track train meaning, if pillars are built on the existing Local Tracks and more trains are run overhead then even in Rainy days, the trains running above the present tracks will not have problems. My suggestion was rejected being just a student".} (Everyone clapped). The integration of practical, job skills, social skills, .....should be such amalgamated in the system that, the child should not realize, when was his personality got developed and when did he became so worthy and your teaching style is like that Sir? (Everyone clapped). We want more teachers like you. If possible we would like to clone many Dr. Ashish in every field everywhere on earth and beyond. (All laughed for a minute).
No. Reasons:
Candidate 1. Even, HBS was started to develop entrepreneurs leave ours and others.... Thus, if HBS can't produce the entrepreneurs should it be closed? (Huge laugh and clap).
Candidate 2. The population is growing so fast that no governments in the world could cope up, we might require a school/ minute in India and China (Huge Laugh). They (Past Developers) designed the system that could cope up with the generation who really wants/ wanted to learn where, real teachers and students are there.
Candidate 3. University/ies are learning grounds and not placement grounds/ agencies. Wise and learned people can find their own ways. (On this, there was huge up roar from 'Yes' side.)
Candidate 4. It's easy to be said, than done. Everyone can't be placed in case a university has more than 100000 students.
Candidate 5.
Point first:
Sir, in case only 5000 student/ university funda is implemented then India will lack space to build so many institutes and universities (All laughed for 1/2 minute).
Point second:
Though we agree your funda that as domain specific university are successful then all organisations and domain specific business houses will try to launch their own universities and we agree there will be competition but that could pose another problem of space, and even after getting degrees from other universities if it becomes a business then students having better financial background only will be able to go for it, as it could add additional skill set to their kitty. Thus, this will be a huge educational business...and it could start another kind of exploitation for common man. Then again our Indian ancestral family skill based jobs could become a norm and University education can take a back sit and again the cycle of skill based caste and creed could start. This vicious cycle seems to be boom as well as doom for India. (Everyone laughed).
Candidate 6. What ever is going on is ok, we just require finishing schools in each institute, and it should be part of grading system. We want simple solutions that are practically implementable than just discussions and hi-funda gasoline talks (All laughed). I also can speak, it should be like this like that, but, I know, changing everything overnight will create such a vacuum and chaos that they will hang a person in front of his family.....(Everyone laughed). It'll take 25 years to bring proper system in this social awakening period of mobiles and internet. However, if allowed and not taken negatively and points not deducted we also agree Sir, what you always say if we don't act fast them Millennium Development Goals (MDG) will be Million Year Development Goals (MYDG). Hence, we want small/ micro/ delta improvement everyday that will make a proper change in the system and becomes truly humane. (Everyone clapped).
Candidate 7. Sir, we can change for positivism, why to close out-rightly functioning bodies like our institutes and universities? Let's employ such people who would support change to the employer and build the systems, procedures, and train students for life skills, job skills, and social skills so that many problems could be tackled. Sir, there is so much work left to be done, that, as you say that our lives will be consumed up in case we correct all the systems. We should keep trying. Just look at the family system that we build in India and that is adopted by world over, it took millions of years to build such system. Computer landed to common public just in 1995 in India and China kinds of countries, let things mature and automatically with all these efforts we'll have education system that we're talking.
Candidate 8. Sir, cloning will create monotonous Dr. Ashish. (Everyone laughed and clapped). We want variety of skills and true teachers like you who build students career and life through leadership development, life skills, social skills, subject skills.....and what not. Sir, it's not easy to get your each whole class based project done unless we all develop such skills. E.g. We heard you gave a project to students to collect data from Massoorie from all the possible hotels to know, effect of Kedarnath tragedy on their business after tragedy and how was the business before that. Even if 100 students have gone there personally it was not possible. We heard you took trial first and then you collected the whole data in just one day. Just look at those students all are/ were very well groomed and well placed. Going in Government bus to Massoorie all of you together and doing it, just incredible and we heard you were back on the same day. Incredible. We also heard your case of Automobile Engineering students brought a jeep Mahindra 540 dp from Nagpur Central Jail that was to be brought on the tractor, and finally you people made it running on the road. If such, Professors are there, our lives would be changed. Sir, ....{No more buttering.....I'll slip from the butter you put on me...(All laughed for a minute)}....
Suddenly Professor for next lecture arrived and the class / contact session ended.....in peaceful clapping note with standing ovation.
On closing note, one student said, "Sir, we'll discuss the laws, policies and other important things in the education system that are bedrock in the next class after our chapter is over.
I said, "Yes. Thanks bachchon." ...walked out of the classroom on happy note.
Dr. Ashish Manohar Urkude, Lives on the ground, Nagpur, India.
