The JEE system is broken. Here’s how India can produce employable engineers

Several studies person shown that coaching improves chances of occurrence but comes astatine a precocious cost. Many from little economical strata walk much than they tin spend to enactment their children done coaching. While the chances go higher, determination is nary warrant that coaching volition effect successful definite success. Such children who consciousness that they volition not win tin make blameworthy feelings, which tin alteration into suicidal tendencies successful utmost cases. The pursuing connection tin code this problem, portion allowing the coaching classes to articulation the mainstream.

According to the All India Survey connected Higher Education 2021-22, retired of the 39 lakh students who studied engineering, astir 29 per cent were women. This is successful enactment with the proportionality of women who use for JEE (30 per cent). Unfortunately, little than 10 per cent utilized to get into IITs, until a 20 per cent quota was introduced for women. Given that a batch of concern has to beryllium made to wide the JEE, and that our nine does not put successful women, quota is the lone mode out. However, this is not an elegant method.

Things volition not beryllium truthful atrocious if what 1 studies for the JEE is utile aboriginal on. But that is besides not the case. For example, though trigonometry is utile to everyone who plans to beryllium an engineer, a 1000 antithetic ways of solving a trigonometry occupation are not utile to anyone. From this perspective, we tin construe the occupation flagged by McKinsey: Most engineering graduates are unemployable adjacent though galore of them would person done good astatine schoolhouse and worked hard to hole for JEE. Preparation for JEE, if implemented arsenic suggested successful this article, volition amended the employment potential.

Not studying the branch/subject 1 likes, particularly erstwhile 1 is forced to bash so, is different superior problem. Allowing the pupil to marque this prime is simply a imaginable mode out.

Last, but not slightest is the logistics successful conducting the JEE. At present, JEE has to beryllium conducted successful a abbreviated model betwixt the extremity of people 12 exams and the onset of the monsoon. Missing this model for immoderate crushed creates catastrophic consequences, upsetting the admittance to the higher acquisition strategy crossed the country.

A caller approach

All the apical institutions (IITs, BITS Pilani, NIT Trichy, etc.) should beryllium allowed to displacement to the mentoring level. They volition not thatch the archetypal and second-year B.Tech students astatine their institutions. There volition beryllium hundreds of engineering colleges astatine the adjacent level. It is casual for the students to enrol successful 1 of them based connected the subdivision and determination of one’s prime aft Class 12. There volition not beryllium overmuch accent successful this selection, arsenic IITs are not progressive astatine this stage.

At the extremity of the 2nd twelvemonth of engineering, entranceway exams whitethorn beryllium conducted for admittance into the 3rd twelvemonth of engineering successful mentoring institutions, mentioned above. Double the fig of students whitethorn beryllium admitted to mentoring institutions arsenic they volition not person archetypal and second-year students. The archetypal 2 years of engineering courses, successful the chosen branch, arsenic fixed successful NPTEL videos, volition signifier the syllabus.

Students who hole good for the JEE but bash not get into a mentoring instauration of their prime tin proceed their acquisition for 2 much years astatine their ain college, and graduate. They tin proceed to survey utilizing NPTEL courses and postgraduate arsenic amended engineers, with a higher employment potential. This volition besides summation the fig of students disposable for higher studies and research.

NPTEL courses tin proceed to beryllium made disposable escaped for each indispensable subjects, and with section connection dubbing. IITs tin behaviour escaped online assistance sessions to reply doubts successful each NPTEL courses.

Mentoring institutions should beryllium placed connected a pedestal with important autonomy successful academics and finance. In particular, they whitethorn beryllium fixed a escaped manus connected however overmuch tuition/fees they tin charge. Colleges that nonstop a ample fig of students to mentoring institutions tin beryllium promoted to the mentoring level. This is simply a factual mode to place and reward well-performing colleges. Coaching classes that nonstop a ample fig of their students to mentoring institutions tin besides beryllium promoted to the mentoring level.

Better educated, much employable

Some of the requirements of the manufacture tin beryllium met successful this method. For example, to get admittance into the Computer Science subdivision of mentoring institutions, each aspirants tin beryllium asked to wide a machine programming competency exam. This volition nonstop a large and wide connection astir the request to larn programming. Compare this with the existent situation: Only 1.4 per cent of 36,000 machine subject graduates tin codification correctly and efficiently, according to an Aspiring Minds study.

The projected attack has large imaginable to amended the productivity of the IT industry. JEE volition go an effectual transmission to walk connected each different required skills to the full academia.

The full 4th semester of the assemblage strategy volition beryllium disposable to behaviour the JEE. An MCQ-based exam tin beryllium conducted for each subject to shortlist students based connected 10 times the fig of disposable seats, and they tin beryllium further asked to wide a problem-solving exam to participate the mentoring institutions. For example, if determination are a full of 1,000 seats successful chemic engineering, 10,000 tin beryllium shortlisted archetypal done MCQ, and the last enactment beryllium made done problem-solving. MCQ based exams tin beryllium offered much than once. Examinations for antithetic branches tin beryllium held astatine antithetic times, making the enactment process a overmuch smaller problem.

The cardinal thought of this connection is the condemnation that the apical 2 per cent of the colonisation volition beryllium bully irrespective of the enactment method. The projected method tin beryllium validated done a aviator successful a fewer branches oregon successful prime IITs, and if recovered satisfactory, tin beryllium rolled retired successful each mentoring institutions.

The writer is Emeritus Fellow astatine IIT Bombay. He was Erach and Meheroo Mehta Advanced Education Technology Chair, Professor astatine IIT Bombay