Below average engineering colleges: Are they essential?

“Engineers make the world” is an aphorism that made the rounds when the profession was limited to a few talented students. But, can we rely upon such engineers who get passed out from universities, who are not aware even the basics of the subject after 4 long years of regular coaching? It’s very common in states like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana and Maharashtra that engineers who passed out from most of the engineering colleges find no market value.

There is no doubt that talent cannot be surpassed by anything – and a talented person will make a way for him in any sort of adversity and can establish him everywhere. The problem here is with the people who buy the education. Education is not a daily commodity that can be bought just in the market. Nevertheless, the present day education has made it feasible. If a person is ready to spend a huge sum, management quota seats are available for sale. Think of a person getting himself employed with the influence of same money and getting involved him in the engineering works. Isn’t the feeling itself is so trembling?

Engineers like Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya brought laurels to the engineering profession. He even received the Indian Republic's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna in 1955. Also, he was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Indian Empire (KCIE) by King George V for his contributions to the public good. Every year, September 15 is celebrated as Engineer's Day in India in his memory. He is held in high regard as an unsurpassed engineer in India.

I wonder how a person could be absorbed in the engineering course, for that matter to any other course, if he/she does not have any sort of aptitude for that course. In this locale, I recollect a cartoon from famous Telugu news daily wherein a person tells another that he was not worried for his lard getting an engineering seat but worried if he gets a seat in B.Sc. It was the beginning of the mushrooming of engineering colleges in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, when this cartoon was published. At that time it was a funny cartoon. But, the same turned into reality, nowadays.

If there is no control over such education, surely that day is not far away when akin to engineers being produced from the colleges, we get doctors produced from the medical colleges who are not even aware of the human anatomy after completing the entire course. It’s rather a serious threat to the societies and need to be addressed timely, before a great loss occurs.

Before I bring to a close, I would like to hold forth the famous poem from Vemana Satakam which when literally translated means “A ladleful of a Sacred cow's milk is enough of what worth is even a pot full of donkey's milk; even a little food given with respect is sumptuous - beloved of the bounteous, Vema, listen!”

“గంగి గోవు పాలు గరిటడైనను చాలు

కడివెడైననేమి ఖరము పాలు

భక్తి కలుగు కూడు పట్టెడైనను చాలు

విశ్వధాభిరామ, వినుర వేమ”