Addmission Games

A way to safe admissions:

Come the month of May or the month of results, and the news papers are filled with stories of achievers, strugglers, toppers; stories of students who achieved a pinnacle of success and also of many who endured undying hardships and overcome many obstacles to earn academic laurels for themselves and making their families, institutions and even communities proud. In due days, many will get felicitated and most will get an opportunity to fulfill their dreams and enroll in top institution, to become anything from a bureaucrat, to a doctor, to an engineer or even an investment banker. 

Come the month of May or the month of admissions, and the newspapers are filled with numerous advertisements from a variety of universities and institutions giving details about their courses. Most of them highlight their excellent quality, superb infrastructure, excellent faculties and excellent placements. In many ways most of them promise the same. The difference lies in the quality of the advertisements, the size and even the glamour quotient of the advertisement. Difference may also lie in the attractive freebies offered, ranging from Free Laptops to Free Foreign Study Tours (In some cases just a holiday). 

There is another difference that is mostly not splashed across newspapers, every year for the world to see. It is the difference in the fulfillment of the commitments. It is also the difference in the actual facilities, actual infrastructure and actual faculty of the institutes.

North- Eastern India, as we all know has been a backward area for long.  Especially in the field of higher technical education, professional education the difference is even more glaring. Till a few years back except for a handful of government engineering colleges and medical colleges there were hardly any other institutes in the region. The private education sector was nonexistent. With an economic boom in the country, especially an IT boom there was a great demand for engineers and such professionals. This lead to a mass exodus of students from the state and the region, to anywhere from Bangalore to Pune to Salem to Delhi. It is estimated that in the mid 2000’s the number of students migrating from Assam alone had stood at 50,000 a year. This resulted in a massive brain drain from the region and also a huge drain of the financial resources of the region in terms of fees and living expenses for the students.

This also made the region a thriving and extremely profitable recruitment ground for all the institutes of the country, irrespective of their credentials. Some are credible and good institutes but along with them there are also many sub standard institute and some outright fraudulent who recruit naïve and unsuspecting students from the region to far away and even interior places. Many students go to the institute are see that there is no “world class” infrastructure as promised and nor are their quality faculties. Worse in many cases the institutes are not recognized and the students end up wasting valuable years as well as money.

Every student and parent must check all the details of the institute before they take their admission. In an ideal situation if possible the student must pay a visit to the institute. Even if that is not possible a few things can be done.

If the institute is offering any professional degrees then it has to have accreditation from bodies like All India Council for Technical Education (A.I.C.T.E.) for engineering, pharmacy, architecture and MBA. In case of nursing then Indian Nursing Council (I.N.C) as well as the permission of the state council where the institute is situated is also a must. In case of dental, permission from dental Council of India (D.C.I), for medical, Medical council of India (M.C.I) and for law Bar Council of India (B.C.I). All the councils have very updated websites, so the institutes name can always be cross checked. The student can also call the council for any further details. All colleges also have to have an affiliation from a local University. It is very important to verify the name and details of the University. The student should also check with the University with the rules regarding admissions and fees.

In case the University is not a local University then it is essential to check how the affiliation has been attained. In many cases the courses are being run on distance mode, but the institutes say that they have attained affiliation from such university. Distance mode and regular mode are completely different. No private University in India can give affiliation to other institutes. If they have the required permission then they can open study centers for distance mode. Many institutes take these permissions and call the study centers as colleges.  Distance mode is not wrong or illegal but it has its own limitations. The objective of distance mode is to enable students to study without going to a college, may be from home. Hence that facility is available to any student in any location in India. If the student is interested in distance mode then the point of going to a different city to do it, does not make sense. Students should check this very carefully. Many Universities and companies may not accept a distance mode certificate. If the student studied for the entire course, without knowing that it is a distance mode and did not understand the limitations then he may be cheated of his time and money.

In case of Universities, A.I.C.T.E. permission is not mandatory. Some opt for it and some don’t. Legally, speaking there is nothing wrong in that. In case A.I.C.T.E permission has not been taken it is even more important to cross check the facilities available. Besides the university or institutes website (Remember the website is maintained by the institute itself), cross references are very important. Check with some neutral education websites, check with someone from the city or try and talk to an ex student or even an existing student on the institute. In case of private Universities, the University grants Commission (UGC), website needs to be checked. It has a list of private universities state wise. There are a lot of websites nowadays that discusses about courses and colleges. Most students are familiar with the internet hence; a few hours also can give a lot of insights about the institutes.

In the past few years the educational scenario of the region has changed. The government has been putting a lot of emphasis on higher education and a lot of central institutes are coming up.  With the private University act being introduced in Assam, private Universities are also coming up now. Similarly even in Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura and Mizoram private Universities are starting. Along with private Universities, Assam has seen a lot of new private professional institutes come up in the state, especially in engineering, pharmacy, management, nursing and paramedical. Most of them are credible institute with facilities at par with other institutes in India.

Now the question arises, whether to choose these local institutes or keep following the trend of going out?

Well firstly, the quality of the institute cannot be gauged just by its location. If the local institutes come up well, in few years time they may attract numerous students from outside the region even. The trend of going to Pune, Bangalore has been there for many years now but may be it can change. Even these cities have all kinds of institutes. Just by being a metro institute, does not guarantee quality. Hence, the quality of institute to study at, is more important than the city it is located in.  The local institutes may not be at par with some of the established “A” grade institutes yet, but they are definitely at par with many other institutes. So, in that case it definitely makes sense to stay back nearer to home. Staying closer to home makes it possible for the children and the parents to meet more often and the parents can keep a watch on their children more easily. Plus it also saves crores of revenue that is leaving the region every year.

Even if a local institute is selected, the same measures of cautiousness as well as verification should be carried out. Being closer to home and to relative and family friends there, it is definitely possible to physically see the institute and meet the people. There are also more chances of knowing someone who has studies and hence can work as a cross reference.

Many students and even parents say that, even if the quality of education may be more reasonable and equally good here the local institutes cannot give placement. Or even if they can give placement they will never pay as much as outside. The so called outside institutes, through their flashy ads and aggressive marketing display the names of the numerous companies that recruit from them. The fact may be true but there are some points to consider. What is the quality of jobs and how much do they pay? An engineer would like to get a job suiting his education and so will an MBA. But, many end up taking jobs in say a call center, which actually does not require their educational qualification or skill set. In most cases the job is also open for any and every graduate and in some cases even for someone who is just an H.S. passed. So, the “outside” degree of many years and costing many lakhs has done nothing to add to the student’s employability!! To the metro salary if you add the metro cost of living, most will agree that the little lower salary back home is actually more beneficial.

If an institute can prove its quality the recruiters are willing to travel to recruit. Guwahati IIT or a Shillong IIM does get recruiters, so does Assam engineering college or even a Tezpur University. So the geographical disadvantage may not hold. In addition to that, there is a huge wave of development in the region itself and there is acute shortage of engineers, nurses, hospitality graduates and so on. The industries would definitely prefer hiring local talent as they know that outsiders are generally not very inclined to work in the region.

Education and industry go hand in hand. The IT hubs are today based in places which are also educational hubs, may it be Bangalore, Pune or the National Capital region. With a cluster of institutes coming up in the region there is now more likelihood of related industries coming up in the region.

There are thousands of students who pass out every year. Only a handful of them are clear with the institute they want to go to and also have the requisite marks as well as financial resources for that. The majority, end up falling short of clarity, marks and or may be even money. They look for ideas and opportunities, through which the can choose their career paths. They are susceptible to fall victim to false promises and deceit. No news paper or system can keep track of all of them. It is very important for every parent and student to take their time and see what is really important and then make their choice.