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Expecting students to choose a narrow focussed discipline as soon as they finish school is unreasonable!
I was part of a Facebook discussion group on engineering counselling, where parents would post questions on which discipline to choose and other parents and senior students would post their opinions. It is a well moderated group and very helpful in deciding which college or course to choose.
One question caught my attention. A parent was asking if his son should choose B.Tech Ocean Engineering and Naval Architecture at IIT Kharagpur or B.E Electrical and Electronics at BITS Pilani.
There were multiple answers to this question. Some said that the IIT Kharagpur brand is more attractive, while some others argued that the career prospects for Ocean Engineering are very less and a EEE from BITS offers more options. There were counter arguments for both the sides, but the parent seemed more concerned about the career prospects and leaned towards BITS Pilani, rejecting IIT Kharagpur, one of the oldest and respected colleges in India.
Wasted Preparation for JEE
The student in question would probably have spent years preparing for JEE Mains and Advanced and thrilled when he qualified in JEE Advanced. Looking at the branch he’s getting, he would have definitely felt disappointed, because no student who has just passed out of college knows what ‘ocean engineering’ involves and where they are likely to get placed. Very honestly, a lot of them would have come to know of this branch only while filling in their JoSAA counselling forms. It is natural that any parent would prefer a known branch like EEE over Ocean Engineering.
Unnecessary Specialisation at an early stage
It is a known fact that in most of the engineering colleges, the first year syllabus is common to all branches. Whether you are studying Computer Science or Ocean Engineering, you have to go through common papers like mathematics, physics, engineering graphics and a programming paper.
A few students do end up getting a ‘branch change’ in the second year based on their first year performance. So, where is the need to make them choose between computer science and mechanical engineering or quality engineering or financial engineering (there is such a branch in IIT KGP) in the first year itself?
Why not let students join a pool of B.Tech and allocate branches based on first year performance? This will ensure that students who study hard to qualify in JEE Advanced, do take advantage of it. IITs in turn can ensure that good students do not leave their seats for other colleges because they got a branch they don’t like.
Even if this is not feasible, why not classify the branches into 4 or 5 main branches? For example the definition of Ocean Engineering is given as “as a branch of technological studies that deals with the design and operations of artificial systems in the ocean and other marine bodies for solving complex engineering problems.(source).”
It is clear that this field is a mix of electrical and mechanical engineering. If they want bright students to pursue these branches, why not have more seats in electrical and mechanical branches and let the students specialise in these branches in the final year? Why give it a name ‘ocean engineering’ and force students to have that label immediately after 12th grade?
IITs need to understand that at the end of the day, students need jobs. If they are labelled as “Ocean Engineers”, it will become difficult for them to try for any other job as their qualifications may not match most job descriptions.
Popularity of the Dual Degree at BITS
BITS Pilani has got a good strategy to attract bright students, which is the MSc-BE dual degree programme. In fact, some of them choose this dual degree over branches like mechanical and civil in IITs. The reason – flexibility to select their engineering branch in the second year and also an added incentive of getting Computer Science (the most preferred branch) if they indeed do well.
By introducing this dual degree, BITS has ensured that bright students do study science, which is becoming rare in recent times. They are also ensuring that there is a good mix of all branches of engineering from among these dual degree students.
A dual degree student knows what they are signing up for. They are aware that they may not get computer science in the second year and some of them do end up with a mechanical branch even though they aspired for computer science at the start. But it is very rare that students quit once they join. Most of them accept what they get and make the best out of it as the college offers multiple open electives which help students pursue their interests.
Narrow focussed subjects like “Airport, Railways and Waterways” are offered as specialisations under Civil Engineering and not as a separate degree in itself, which makes it easier for students as they will still be eligible for jobs under Civil Engineering.
Concluding remarks
IITs are definitely the best engineering institutions in the country, funded by taxpayers’ money and meant to provide quality education at a low fee.
Creating too many specialised engineering branches and making students choose these disciplines immediately after 12th grade is unfair. Most of the students are not sure about what they want to do in life and forcing them to make a decision at an early stage can ruin their career and interest in studies.
Many students choose computer science as it is the ‘in-thing’ but later realise that they don’t like programming. Such students, who are probably toppers in JEE advanced should be allowed to choose other branches, so that the brilliant brains of our country are not stuck to a subject they dislike.
IITs should ideally have a general B.Tech admission process without any specialisation in the first year. Individual branches can be decided based on their first year performance or interest and aptitude in some subjects, for which students need to be counselled.
Most of all, career opportunities should be provided to students of all branches, not just Computer science. If IITs are bent on creating courses like Ocean Engineering, they must ensure that students who take these branches are placed on par with CSE students with competent salaries.
