Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

On July 25, Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said at the Lok Sabha that for now on, at least three internships will be made mandatory for engineering students across the country while pursuing their course. Javadekar established:

Every student in technical institute should undergo three internships each spanning four to eight weeks before completion of his/her under-graduation course. The responsibility will be on the institute to help students find a suitable industry for the internship

Morover, teachers will also have to go through mandatory annual refresher course so as to keep themselves updated with the latest techniques, technology and developments in the fields. The minister declared:

Every teacher in each of the technical discipline shall mandatorily undergo an annual refresher course through SWAYAM portal (Massive open online course), encapsulating all advances in their field of study.

Only reputed engineering colleges have been following the compulsion of summer internships so far and hence, many graduate engineers lose out in real life due to their lacking experience. The minister reflected that according to AICTE data, of 15.87 lakh students at 10,328 technical institutions only 6.96 lakh students get placements. Javadekar claimed that the count could have been higher if the students had not opted for start-ups and higher studies for their future.

In fact, only 40% engineering graduates get placed after graduating from college, claims the Union minister. This, he said, creates low employability levels as their is a great fall in the demand for the industry and moreover, the graduates are lacking in a grand fashion when it come to the required or even the basic skills the industry demands. For the moment, the minister has set the aim to increase the placements to a minimum 60% from the current 40%.

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By Rupal