Education Standards

Standard of EAMCET

Around Mid 90's, Every year, In Madhya Pradesh, somebody used to get the admission in Polytechnic (Engineering Diploma) with 3 or 4 marks in the entrance examination. I used to be surprised with that. In 1997, EAMCET (Engineering and Medical Common Entrace Test in Andhra Pradesh) model has been changed. EAMCET already had negative marks, and in that year, for the first time, they had introduced descriptive questions. They changed the model just few months before the exam. Everybody prepared with the previous model (objective questions), and suddenly they introduced descriptive questions. Because of this sudden change, many students could not answer many questions, and the average marks was very less. Many people got negative marks. Because of the reservations, few SC/ST students who got negative marks got admission. It means, for SC/ST students, if they write their hall ticket no, and return the paper, they would get the admission. The jokes like New Examination Pattern are not for exaggeration. They are facts.

Students who got negative marks got admissions in Engineering. Now, what should government do in this case? It removed the negative marking system and descriptive questions. Government gave explanation that, few SC/ST students who got negative marks got admission, and that's why they are removing the negative marks system. Since then, if any SC/ST student just answers one single option for all the question, he/she will get his/her choice of branch/place in Engineering.

Standard of IITs

IITs have very high standards, and it is very difficult to study for an ordinary student. Still, everyone wants to study there, irrespective of whether they have the capability to study or not. This year, 12 SC students were expelled from IIT Delhi, because of bad performance. They complained to Scheduled Cast Commission, and to the media. Media made it as a big issue, and started criticizing that IIT Delhi is discriminating students by caste. IIT Delhi had to review all the students and they had to take 2 SC students back by reducing the standards for termination.

Standard of Engineering

In Engineering Colleges in AP, there is detention system. A student can enter to third year of Engineering only if he/she completes all subjects in the first year, and similarly they can enter final year only after completing all the subjects in the third year. One main reason for this is, if a student does not have basics, then, they cannot understand advanced subjects. For example, if a student cannot write a C program, then they cannot understand NP-Complete problems.

For quite some time, students are fighting to abort this detention system. Few days back, one girl suicided because she was detained for not completing all the subjects in the first year. Now, the students are fighting more aggressively to abort the detention system. If another similar incident happens, then they will immediately abort the detention system.

We already have very low standards of education (except in IITs, NITs, and other premier colleges). If the standards are even reduced because some body was humilated, complained, or suicided, then what will be the future of the education?