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  • One more course likely for engg. students.

    Certification course may be made mandatory. Engineering students may have to take a certification course offered by IT product and service companies mandatorily and a proposal in this regard is being put before the Vice-Chancellors of Technological Universities by the A.P. Society for Knowledge Networks (APSFKNW) that runs the Jawahar Knowledge Centres (JKCs) in engineering colleges.

    The issue will come up for discussion at a meeting being planned by the APSFKNW with the JNTU Vice-Chancellors and the representatives of the industry this month. Amarnath Reddy Atmakuri, CEO of APSFKNW said that less then 5,000 students had opted for certification courses offered in the JKCs out of the 60,000 odd-students who join JKCs for skill training. “We have signed MoUs with Oracle, IBM, Microsoft, SAP and Autodesk to offer certificate courses for engineering students but the response is not encouraging due to lack of awareness among students and the not-so encouraging attitude of the colleges,” he admitted. Interestingly, all the certification courses are offered free except the Oracle course, which is heavily subsidised for students.

    Students with these courses have an edge in the job market as students get equipped with the skills required for services and products of these top companies. Moreover, these courses are recognised worldwide and companies are assured of some quality among these students. The worth of these courses outside is around Rs.3-4 lakh.

    Mr. Reddy feels students are not aware of the advantage of these courses and most colleges don’t even promote it. Students realise its importance once they are rejected during the placements and then approach private institutes outside paying huge sums to learn the same. “Hence, we are proposing to make it mandatory and the view of the Vice-Chancellors will be elicited during the meeting,” he said. “Ideally, every student should take one certificate course at least during their second year and follow it up with a project work based on those skills. But, they opt for the courses in the final year and it does not serve the required purpose,” says Director of Academic Affairs, IEG, M. Chandra Sekhar. He says that programming skills are essential even for students of core branches like Electrical, Civil and Electronics as now software is used in the core area works.

    Source : The Hindu

  • No cash for fee reimbursements.

    To keep the fee reimbursement scheme going, about Rs 3,500 crore is required this academic year (2011-12), but the BC and social welfare department has only Rs 150 crore. The state budget has a provision of Rs 2,950 crore for the scheme under which the fees of students from socially and economically weak backgrounds, studying in professional colleges, are paid by the government. Of this, Rs 2,800 crore went towards paying the arrears of the previous academic year (2010-11).

    With four months left for the current academic year to end, the government has not released a single rupee for the scheme. College managements have consequently started collecting fees from students with the assurance that it will be refunded after the government pays up. But those who cannot afford to pay are not being allowed to attend classes and have been told they will not be able to sit for the exams either.

    This has left some 20 lakh students in the lurch. It is taking shelter behind the recent HC direction to implement a common fee for convenor and management quota seats in engineering colleges. While the higher education department is busy fighting the legal battle in the SC against this order of the High Court, the future of over 20 lakh students is in jeopardy.

    “The government is still in the process of accepting online applications for fee reimbursement from freshers who took admission this year. After that, it will conduct verification of each and every student college-wise to determine eligibility. The government will release the tuition fee only after it completes the process. No one knows how long this will take,” said Dr P. Rajeshwar Reddy, general secretary, Consortium of Engineering Colleges Managements Association of AP (CECMA). If this is the case with freshers, officials are clueless about the release of tuition fee for seniors.

    “There is no need for the government to conduct verification again for seniors who are pursuing second and third year,” said Mr R. Krishnaiah, president, AP Backward Classes Welfare Association.

    Source : Deccan Chronicle

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