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Don't Blame Indian Education System if You Are Unfit for Studying Abroad

I have been continuously coming across the numerous posts that follow the general outline of poor educational system in India. I really don’t feel great to see that they are one of the most commented posts as well. I have drafted a write-up putting forth my views on the same.


Just let’s look at the various aspects of Indian education-

  • Lack of good teachers at the colleges:
  • Lack of practical opportunity at campus:
  • What gets you into a graduate university abroad:
  • Now about the relevance of IITs, IISc and NITs:

Lack of good teachers at the colleges

Is it really stopping you? Seriously, think about it!!

Don’t blame Indian Education System Problems.

Majority of the students at the college believe that ultimately the answers on the exam answer scripts are driven by the last moment preparations. So, majority of them spend the time in the canteens, cafes and multiplexes or playing games or surfing.

Now, who on earth had stopped them from going back to library or internet to read books?

Most of the foreign author books present the concepts in an excellent manner. They are written to delineate the fundamentals to the readers without a tutor’s aid.

Lack of practical opportunity at Campus

This is a major aspect that students should focus on. But, what should be the approach to gain practical exposure? That’s a tricky one!

A lot of students even at the fag ends of their college days do not realize the one thing that they would like to take for their entire life.

For such people opportunities make no difference.

It is very important that students start asking early about the area that they would like to devote their efforts to. It comes by an eclectic study habits and trying to be upbeat with the research updates in the world.

Now, if you know what you want to work on, I guess you can find your way.

I wanted to pick-up some practical hands-on skills during my college days and started my own club to help myself and fellow-like-minded people to achieve practical exposure in life.

In aspects that were beyond this level of simplicity, I have had to wait for more than five hours outside several doors to get those ten minutes of window when- “It’s now or never”.

What gets you into a graduate university abroad:

Please ask yourself this question before you make slanderous remarks about your education system.

One does not get an admission because of the hatred one can put forward for one’s country.

You are given an opportunity to specialize in a particular field based on your previous efforts to enhance your skill sets, your understanding of the subject and the credibility put forth in terms of your admission documents, transcripts and examination scores.

So, if you are telling that the education system that you studied in was a total scrap then in that case your knowledge is indirectly rubbish. As a logical extension, you are unfit to pursue graduate studies.

The world is continuously throwing packets of opportunity towards you.

It depends on your skills to make the best of it. In a same class we get grade F’s as well as grade A’s. What really matters is personal efforts.

Now about the relevance of IITs, IISc and NITs:

What makes them elite is not just the infrastructure that was put in place but it’s the people and the mind set of these ignited minds.

How, many of you have tried to loiter from door to door from one professor to another at these campuses to make the best of your semester holidays.

Not many, I presume.

It is these small things that makes you elite or the constituent of a directionless crowd.

So, stop feeling that these institutes mainly cater the foreign market and companies rather than our country.

The quality of research pursued during the stay of interns, students, research associates at these facilities make them elite and are employable.

The thirst for more knowledge takes many abroad, though it’s very easy to think that people are just interested to get lost in the glimmer of dollars and pounds.

Above article was written by Prashanth, Project Engineer at National Aerospace Laboratories-CSIR.

*****

 Man O Man.

Very candid thoughts and valid points.

Of all the 4 points, I kinda partially disagree on this topic – Lack of good teachers at the colleges.

Also, I see the reasoning behind your argument.

I have seen the value of attending a class under professors who are world-renowned.

Courses designed by professors in USA will align with their research. You get to work on projects that are accessible only to that specific professor. But, that’s the case in Graduate School in USA and other countries.

But, lecturers in India typically don’t work on research.

For instance, University X (say ranked 50) will tend to hire Professors who went to school in Rank 1 to 40.

Why?

That’s how they are going to improve the quality of the program.

Few of my lecturers during Engineering College were my direct seniors from same college.

But, above all students should have that Ignited Mind and Opportunistic Thinking.

Are You Unfit or Ignited Thinker?

3 Types of students with respect to problem solving.

  • I don’t know what to do and I really don’t care
  • I don’t know what to do, but I need help
  • I don’t know what to do, but I can find way

Who are you? Where do you fit right now in above 3 types?

Do you blame the education system or do you think you fall into Type 1 or 2?

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68 Comments

  1. Since you have gone through Indian education system, there is no doubt that you lack critical thinking. For all others who are interested to know How one can write such article, I want to tell the root cause.
    Now take two brains from their initial school education.
    First brain is trained for accepting the things written in book and reproducing them in exact manner whenever asked. If this brain does it effectively, it called as intelligent brain. The brain is slowly slowly trained to solve the problem using same steps as in given book and to search solutions of every problem in the book. It is never allowed to think itself on any problem. Its view and opinion are never asked. Its thinking for unknown problem is never encouraged. The brains leaves its thinking abilities aside, loose confidence to solve the problem using own thinking until same is endorsed by book. The brain believes and is trained to accept that every problem should be solved as mentioned in book. For any unknown problem, it is unsure and it searches into different book and on google. Now suppose this brain gets a job in research institute as scientist. Now he is asked to think. He think about problems and search solutions in books and on google and solve the problem.

    Second brain is trained in a creative environment. It is always asked for its idea to solve the problem, even it may be very absurd. It is not encouraged for reproduction of book materials, but encouraged for giving its own idea, analysis, thoughts. Whether it is history or science or math, it is always asked to think deeply and give its own view on problem. Its answer is considered wrong only if it ignores thinking and try to copy from book. Math is not only predefined steps for solving problem, but to think themselves what will be the next step to solve the problem. The meaning of education and knowledge is somewhat different here, and brain is trained for innovative and critical thinking throughout its education. Now this brain gets a job in research institue and is asked to solve a problem. Now he thinks, thinks more deeply, analysis and again think to solve the problem. It gets an idea. But Idea didn’t work and it is not fired. He again analysis, think, study literatures on it, understand problem well and get determined to solve it by own ideas. He tries and he succeeded. Oh! this was new idea, this was research, the problem was solved in better and in new way. A new and better product will come to market soon. Fortunately, second brain was not in India and therefore, not gone through same situation as first brain has gone.

    First brain know how motor works, how compressor works, it studied and scored good marks, but second brain build it and first brain buy. This is not laziness. This is training of mind in two different direction, one leads to creativity and one leads to become just a robotic employee.

    I may think you will think.

    1. Read the two brains story here : http://educationsysteminindia.quora.com/

      If you killed my creativity and critical thinking ability at primary level, it doesn’t matter what infrastructure you give me, how much fund you invest on me, I will be a robotic employee.

      Don’t kill my creativity and critical thinking, I promise to give everything country needed with available infrastructure and funds only.

  2. of course, indian educational system is a little bit slow and dull than any other developed coutries.. i agree to all of you. because, india is a developing country. so if you have any problem or if you think that its totally wrong then try to change it dont blame.. and ya, vtu may became rude at you on some point but because of it, you can`t blame on educational system. as everyone know indian govenment is a little bit lazy in educational area, so its just happened, but you can see government insti. IIT, NIT, IIM run successfully better than any other collage. i am also a student and i have also many problems at many points but it depends on your collage by what purpose they open the collage? only for money or for serving the nation. you have the options to choose the right collage so its your fault, you have to work hard and get the better collage , why do you blame the whole system..

  3. i think, anurag is quite right.. if have passed with distinction, and just do not know deeply anything, its your fault. its totally wrong to feel shy. as a “guru” you have to be prepared well, what ever u will teach in class. i can understand the situation of new opening collage because i face the same problem these days. but i hope there is a internet connection in your collage now a days.. so, solve your problem then after, even if you have any problem then discuss with other collage`s experienced professor. if you try your best to get the answer instead of being shy, you will definetaly success. only thing is you have to work hard. is it fair that your professor teaches you not well then you also do the same thing with the students.. remember me, you teach like your professor, then one day, your students surely become same as you. start to make difference from you..As a student i can suggest you that whenever you dont know the answer during class tell them frankly that you will discuss that topic tomorrow deeply instead of being shy ot teach them wrong and before the next class, search out all the answer by anyway…try this..you will be a good teacher.. as a student i can suggest you more than any other professional or a blog writer. have you got my point??????????

  4. Here, I have proof that India’s education sucks big time….all the undergraduate students dream of studying from abroad. Therefore, something must be lacking in India. Right? For sure I am.

  5. Hello HSB,
    i would firstly thank the author for his patriotism. I dont think that the author is ignorant abt the facts and i think in any country there will be good and bad thinks, but the ratio in which they they exist depends upon the people of the country. Even the forward countries has gone through the same situation but the people came out of this situation with a single mind set, so we have to take a stand and this stand has to come from all over the country so that we can make the dream come true…………………

  6. I just like to share a experience what happened to me in my 8 th sem ..studying in vtu
    [please pardon my grammatical mistakes]
    i am a mechanical engineering student who flunked a year in 7 th sem due to ,my laziness .not knowing the value of education .

    due to this year back entire syllabus changed i was studying in 2002 scheme and it switched to 2006 scheme.[nothing much different in the content of syllabus only the subjects in semesters jumbled up ]. All my juniors already studied Heat mass transfer in there 6 th sem itself but for us in old scheme this subject was to be studied in 7 th sem… so i had to take my exams with my juniors for that particular exam.

    so when i wrote my exam in 8th sem a chaos happened all the lecturers went on strike for not getting enough pay for the valuation . so they did not correct even a single paper for next 2-3 weeks ,,then the result announced without any delays ,i was baffled because i taught there would be delays .. but they did not upload my result for next 2 weeks ..when the result came i was shocked i had flunked even though i had written for 110 marks ..
    so i decided to apply for revaluation of the subject ,,and when i submitted my form they refused saying i have came 2 weeks late and already the formalities are complete .Then i went to the university board to comply at my situation, i met chancellor and all the concerned authorities
    but all shunned me away .so i had to take the exams after 6 months ..so again the passing years went in marks marked went up more then 5 years and people in visa counseling will never ask why i took more then 5 years to complete this course .
    This how they treat for a person who try to atone his old habits and start a new beginning

  7. i am a 2010 passed out student and i am working as an assistant professor teaching 3rd year and 2nd year engineering students. I myself get many doubts in the subjects which are not cleared by my professors when i asked them in my college life. How can i clear my students doubts. And the main important thing is the engineering college managements are preferring only us to teach because we are paied less. Due to financial problems we have to get into some source iey i joined the college. There is nothing wrong in blaiming the indian education system, i was a student trying to learn things but people would laugh at me and professors would just skip away my doubts. I am a student working part time and studying, i would have no time to go to libraries and even go to net centres. when my students ask me doubts and if i am unable to clear them i myself feel shameful. This is the same condition of many of the assistant professors like me.

    If the leader goes in a good direction the followers also go in the same way.

    1. I cannot ask you to leave the job but please find some other job or read uptodate articles and attend seminars to update your knowledge. Or simply do well in gate for PHD admission and go for it.

      1. saying things is very easy when u r in the live circumstances bearing the problems from all sides you wil know how a middle class family women takes the responsibilities of her family, I dnt belong to a family where parents feed us. Before suggesting something i request everyone to think. Indian politicians commercialized the education system, people are establishing colleges to make money. It became a profitable business. Even if we are selected for the government job we need money to take the appointment letter it is true fact,.

        1. Pardon me If I have hurt your feeling.
          Our education system has made the education a profitable business and are you trying to say that you don’t have any other possibility apart from making a profit out if it.
          Saying the things are easy., I know. But I told you the easiest things one can do., like updating one’s knowledge and attending the seminars. I dont think they cost you much. I think library is free for staff, right!
          So, Please remember the fact that you cannot feed yourself for free. You need to give your students the knowledge they need, else you will not be fit to be called as a professor.
          No offense. Students can look down on their professors if they find them as useless. Please be aware of that.

          1. i know i dnt have complete knowledge about the subjects but i have a little with which i brought first class with distinction in graduation. U have absolutely no right to say that whether i am fit for the professor post or not, do you think i waste time after the classes.
            Coming to the library this is an important place where we dont find the stuff which we need, this is the sitiuation in most of the newly established engineering colleges, just for name sake its a library.

            And other one is do you really think students are respecting professors now.
            Before pointing out at others you should look around whats going on in the surroundings. Due to the film industry the professors are let down many times. If the indian government is so strict it should have banned those scenes where the teachers respect is let down.

            There are number of engineering colleges where the students get marks without studying. If the Indian education system forms and follows the rules strictly how can this happen. As a teacher i can confidently say more than half of the class ina graduate class may know the formula for the area of the circle but they dnt know how did we get that, this is a small example, there is no practical approach in this system. The same syllabus since years we are following, in the developed countries the syllabus gets updated year by year and each and everything is shown practically which is lacking here.

          2. @Rathnamala Mam instead of blaming the system why can’t you try to change it in your classes by explaining things practically. I am sure any AP can do it. I am so confident because in my college one of the AP (she is a mother to 4 years old child) does so. She used to give practical examples to the concepts in the syllabus.

            Mam regarding your comments on film industry, It doesn’t matter what the film shows If a student realizes your talents he/she will definitely respects you. But if they thought you are the one who mugs up the local author books and recite in the class don’t expect him/her to give enough respect to you. I may sound arrogant but it is a practical thing.

            No student expects a lecturer to no everything, If you don’t know exact answers tell us where we can find answers like name of the books or particular web pages etc.

            Regards,
            Siva7891

  8. Respected readers,
    its tym u all realize that don’t blame others for Ur own mistakes…..firstly we didn’t had the idea of western education system since we were ruled by continent of Europe…..the overall Indian education system will be just fyn if opening of new schools and college is not permitted…every month u find two schools opening around India…every month a school is pulled down in name of development…..more students,majority of them are unfit to preach education,lack of professors bull i say for that professors are available but they r not hired cos various reasons.teachers r not getting enough respect, management is supporting students n blame teachers,parents blame teachers if their children is not scoring according to their expectation……insulting of senior lecturers by providing more salary to newbie who is graduated frm some xyz university……does he really knw hw to teach balls…..more demand of quality education costs the society and after all everybody want to achieve wat their neighbour did……talk abt lack of campus activity
    go on strike to cut down unnecessary holidays given by government less working days,more syllabus,hw the hell r we supposed to enjoy campus,if college promote some functions how many will u attend,parents scold if they do it or didn’t do it……..if don’t finish syllabus in tym scold someone if finished early blame them too…..and abt thinking i strongly recommend every should do this,” if u got a problem try to deal with it,every problem has got marvelous solution if not it is a fact and solution will be found if some one who is bold and daring and has guts and mind to face it will survive out there…..and you cannot go running to your parents,your teachers,your friends its ultimately you and only you can solve it”……

    1. i think an educated and clear-thinking mind does not need to use words like balls and bull. The very fact that so many people are unable to articulate their comments points to the failure of the education system. I wouldn’t be surprised if this were any old blog. This blog, however is meant for students who want to go on to graduate studies!

      1. with due respect i studied an sub army school don’t go on talking abt my nation, my country…..i used balls and bulls coz i wnt on rage wen i heard talking abt system…lemme tell u something system is fyn but execution is not accurate…….if u find these words disturbing do temme coz its ur right to point it out and this helped me avoid using words on blog……………………..
        ciao

    2. I strongly agree with you! There are hoards of Engg. colleges in India. Hence, many of us do not understand or don’t value this field of technology. Whenever I go to my home town , I see the new engg. college being started..In 1 yr , to my surprise, 5 new engg. colleges commenced.. Although, the technology hub – Pune is only 3 hrs from my hometown. Moreover, these colleges entertain the number of seats allocated to the particular branch on the basis of admission applications they receive. They also intend to increase the no. of seats. This is any sort of business or wat..??? But, I am very proud of the IIT’s, NIT’s whose educational system is incomparable.. There are no such institutions on earth except in India and many foreigners crave for it…Thanks to the great Pandit Nehru. I wish that our country people should get to know what exactly is engineering and not merely just do whatever to acquire just BS/BE/Btech degrees!!!

        1. accurately said…..the concept of donation is to be removed and all should get the compulsory education we need for today’s world….

  9. The following observations were made by me while talking to some students of Tamil Nadu.
    A student with 23 arrears( till 7th sem) passes the final semester and gets First class.
    A student who has not touched a keyboard in his college passes B.Tech IT with 70%
    A student from Andhra joined a college in TN just because his BE course is not having Maths subject.
    AICTE stumbled upon same set of teachers in different colleges while inspecting their facilities.
    Seniors are paid for getting students from their native places by some institutions.
    These are some that hurts me a lot.

    1. I don’t know much abt the first four points but I have practically seen the last two. They are true in case of pharma education.

  10. Money and Caste play the game in India and yes only in India.
    The author is totally ignorant. In one way, ignorance is bliss. But not here.

      1. These are two different sentences with different meanings. But yes, both of them are true. Atleast for me, they are true.

        – Vignesh

  11. This is a hopeless article. The fellow who wrote this article is the worst I have ever seen in terms of writing an article or weblog with so many mistakes in grammar. How is this article good when this fellow made so many grammar mistakes. That shows his English teacher for kindergarten + high school + intermediate/ diploma + engineering ( Total of 16 yrs of English ) was useless. That is just one subject ENGLISH. Now think about other subjects and the time he spent on studying them. The author of this weblog/article is wrong. Indian educational system is the worst in the world. Don’t study in India. It will not take you anywhere. Anyway the author is working for an Indian company after all and that too its not a famous company. So whatever he says is not worthy enough. It is because he has no wide exposure.

    I personally wasted a lot of money by paying fees and I was not offered the textbooks from my college library. I paid the fee and I did not get my books. I could not study. My parents did not support me by taking this matter to the concerned officials. I was cornered. I was offered a subject during my studies in a university in India where there was no faculty for that subject. Now I neither could do ” paisa vasool ” nor ” get educated “. It all went nowhere. Everything is because of useless educational system and academic standards in India. Indian youth know only about EAMCET, IIT, NIT, BITS. Is there anything other test than those mentioned above a random student from a majority career background opts for ? The author who wrote this doesn’t even know what he is talking about. The most stupid article ever posted !!!
    – Vignesh M

    1. Dude, you are emotionally disturbed and that is what YOUR response tells me! Many people have fought against greater odds to find success in their lives. To me, you just seem like some sore loser who is just venting out his frustration here.
      @HSB: Agreed that studying under a world renowned professor is all together a different experience, but then the fees to study under these professors is also exorbitantly high. We all know that it won’t be soon enough that we will be having such professors in our colleges. So students should better deal with this and not look for an excuse in this for their academic problems.

      1. Mr/Ms Rachit,
        let me say it again, wow! If a student has academic problem then he should deal with it on his own!!. Kya baath hai yaro. If you are a medical student and found a new way to perform surgery and you are provided with nothing. what would you do? Will you cut open someone else/yourself and say., “Yes, I dealt with my own problem and I will not blame my system”. medicine is tough, isn’t it.
        Lets take something easy, Pharmacy education. You found a new drug in chemistry lab but you are not provided with animals for Pre-clinical studies., what would you do? Will you go to a Butcher shop and buy a live bird and test on it?
        Think b4 u post something as it would only reflect your half baked brain.

      2. That isn’t really true..about the fees being high. Go to places like Germany, don’t opt only for America, where fees are lesser than here! and in some places education is free! Also it’s meaningless to say ‘study on your own’. Why should I when i’m enrolled in a course? That should only be an addition through my interest. But the college and the profs Have to do their work.

      3. @ Mr Rachit

        Why don’t you tell us a little bit about your background. I do not know you.

        No, I am not emotionally disturbed. I am rather happy that I don’t have to worry about what happens in India anymore. Let India go to hell. The whole world knows about India’s problems. Believe me, Indians are not respected everywhere, at least not completely in most developed countries. So get rot living in India. I don’t care who you are or whatever you have to say about me. Do you know why? Because you are nothing but innocent.

        I know what I am okay. I can defend this whole world when something affects me. You and your words have no value. Okay. Go and do something worthwhile than spending time in counter arguing with other bloggers.

        I am not a loser. You are a loser. I am much more successful abroad than I was in the past 20 years in India. Kiddo go and get a life..

        1. hey Dude !
          Don’t become a racist to your fellow citizens, not all many are born equal, but every man wants the best things in life, as regards to indians not being respected globally, i will like to disagree with you, not all are that bad coz we still have some gregarious fellows here in Nigeria and while some are not all, that is life, so deal with it !

      4. If you have the guts to argue against me, don’t argue here. Create a new post and send me a link. Lets argue there and let everybody know what we are arguing upon. The reason I am saying this is because, I rarely come here. Whenever I come here, I reply/comment to the latest blog post. This site is not convenient enough that I look on who replied to me. Before that, lemme know a little bit about yourself. 🙂

        – Vignesh

      1. Are you saying this to me ?

        If yes, then maybe I will one day. I want to help young generation. But that day is not going to be soon. So never mind ! 🙂

  12. the author was telling about iits and other so called prestigious institutes but he forgot to mention if one wants to get admission in these institutes one has to mug up in entrance exams and also (no offence to anyone) there is so many reservations that it feels divided with different cut off of different classes.if government wants to help why doesnt it just help by providing financial aid to to those students who cant afford to pay the fees and instead of introducing a number a reservations.In INDIA we have right to education but how is there right when there are so many reservations…….atleast in usa there are chances of getting scholarship or ur desired college from your sop and recommendation letter while in INDIA all is based on marks………recently one of my collegue was able to score 96% in GATE but he wasnt able to pass the interview section of HCL …..so what would u say on this….dont try to fish in a small pond,try to be a whale in a ocean…..

    1. i don’t understand wht India u r r talking about??? Here there is no value for merit.Everything is based on caste and reservations. chk this

      1. There is minimum 50% reservation in Institutions (universities, Govt companies, Various dept of Govt,Central govt jobs) affiliated to central Govt.

      2. At state level In few states like Andhra Pardesh the reservation is 82% ( 49% for SC/ST/BC + 33% for women) where si the value of merit.?????????????????

      chk this State first ranker refused specilisation of his choice……

      Gudipati Anantaram, who secured the first rank in the Post Graduate Medical Entrance Examination 2005 but was refused specialisation of his choice

      http://www.thehindu.com/2005/03/18/stories/2005031805280500.htm
      http://www.hindu.com/2005/04/13/stories/2005041317830500.htm
      http://targetpg.wordpress.com/2005/04/

      Dont believe all these hype. India is beyond point of repair. India is beyond point of repair.

      Not Fade Away: Against the Myth of American Decline.
      http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2012/0117_us_power_kagan.aspx

      plz stop being a chauvinist.

      No Indian university in global top 200
      http://www.thehindu.com/education/article1529256.ece

      Even IIT/IIM r more of a hype than realty. Can u plz tell me how many patents filed by people in IITs or Indians in India??? How many scientist India produced?? we r not able to manufacture our own truck.

      1. Comparing IITs with MIT – mere hype
      http://thoughtgarage.muralim.com/2004/11/comparing-iits-with-mit-mere-hype_22.html

      2. ‘IITians Are Big Fools’
      http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:LO_Oe2-FPN4J:www.outlookindia.com/full.asp%3Ffodname%3D20070201%26fname%3Diitians%26sid%3D1+%E2%80%98IITians+Are+Big+Fools&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=in

      3. Are the IIT’s & IIM’s Over-rated, Over-hyped, Over-exposed & Underperforming?

      http://mutiny.wordpress.com/2007/03/15/are-the-iit%E2%80%99s-iim%E2%80%99s-over-rated-over-hyped-over-exposed-underperforming/

      In india everything is hype. India is good for paper degrees including IITs..Real world is about how much money u generate or wht technology u invent???

      Its the true India everybody ignores or afraid to speak.

      The Wall Street Journal has published a six-part series of essays on starvation in India.

      Part 1:
      http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2012/04/09/starving-in-india-the-forgotten-problem/

      Part 2:
      http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2012/04/10/starving-in-india-a-fight-for-life-in-bihar/

      Part 3:
      http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2012/04/11/starving-in-india-surviving-on-toxic-roots/

      Part 4:
      http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2012/04/12/starving-in-india-it-isnt-all-about-food/

      Part 5:
      http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2012/04/13/starving-in-india-a-scribe-tries-to-save-a-life/

      Part 6:
      http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2012/04/14/starving-in-india-legislating-food-security/

      Plz everybody come out of ur self built cocoons. India will be same India even after 1000 yrs. Stay in USA work hard.Still i can say its the best place to be even for another 50 years. Leave the country India to politicians.

  13. Hi,

    Somebody mentioned about the excellence of IIT and NIT’s, So let me tell you i’m in US doing my masters and i few students from IITs who are studying with me they also say that IIT’s are really good till your undergrad but for Grad studies you should seriously look for some other options. I have seen people who have done Undergrad from US and trust me there knowledge is way better than few of the Indian Grads who were graduated from so called “Elite” colleges in India. I’m not belittling the Indian Education,at the end it all narrows down to zeal of an individual ,its all about how passionate you are to when it comes to your field of interest. If you really wanna learn then it really doesn’t matter wherever you study either in US or India.

    1. That is very true. when I did MS, friend of mine was from IIT (Chemical Engineer) switched to CS. Man, I couldn’t compete with him. His work ethic and programming skills for amazing.

  14. Hello HSB,

    Let me substantiate my point “Lack of good teachers at the colleges” to quench your reservations about the point.

    A good world renowned professor will inspire you and get you aligned to his direction of research. Very true ! Categorically, that’s the typical stereotype way the education moves on everywhere.

    But let’s look back at the videos posted by you in the past by Seth Godin.
    He says,”The time when people would do what they are ordered to do is over.” He also shares that people today need to improvise to deliver results better and faster then the benchmarks set and need to come up with new ideas.

    How do you think it can be possible ?
    The students need to find out their niche by themselves. The interest to pursue research in a particular field has to come from within and, not necessarily, be merely driven by the funding opportunities the professors have.

    When I wanted to start getting some hand-on experience in my field of specialization, I started a club and arranged 45 lakhs in three years to fund our various projects. Rather the benefits our effort are still enjoyed by our juniors. So it really is not always necessary that we should depend on our professor to guide us in a particular direction of research. I got into NAL and work with some crazy people out here only because of this boorish attitude to do things that I want to do, and not what others had to offer to me.

    None of my professors work on MEMS and nanotechnology, however, based on my own interest I have been able to build a brand for myself that has got me admits at CMU (direct PhD) as well as University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (MS- actually I applied for MS here). Not the professors or their motivations or directions.

    They are important, but not very critically important.

    1. Seth Godin talked in contect related to people in corporate world and to greater extent it applies to research.

      Here is my view about research in MS and PhD.

      For MS – thesis typically you will be solving a part of bigger problem your professor is working. Other Masters students will be working on other parts of the same research.

      For PhD – 2 Kinds here. Most of PhD Candidates have to come up with the problem to solve. For instance, you want to solve a never before solved problem in Nanotechnology, first you have to identify what to solve, then you will get guidance from professor, if its worth solving it and you get guidance from Professor with technical challenges. You will select the professor fist based on the area, then work with him to solve the new problem you came-up with.

      In certain instances, Professor will be working on much larger research and you can solve a part of it for PhD.

      Here is an article by PhD Student that talks in detail – http://www.happyschoolsblog.com/what-exactly-is-phd-degree/

    2. Mr. Prashanth, plz don’t get confused with funding and support of faculty. Funding (a student) is not required to learn a new concept. But you do require the expertise of the faculty in many areas of education. The level of independency comes into a picture when you start discussing abt masters and PhD’s. Most of the students go abroad for Masters and PhD’s. But our education system fails from high school(all govt schools and many PVT schools) and bachelors is not an exception. Which is why you might have seen most students pursuing masters abroad blaming their education system.

  15. Ok,the point “door to door”!! I and 2 of my friends had contacted an IIT professor for a little bit of help regarding a project termed-“Spybot-cum-All terrain surveillance robo”. The help we needed was regarding the mechanical structure(actually regarding stair climbing) we shud adopt as we are Electrical and Electronics students and our college faculties were not able to solve it. THE KIND OF RESPONSE HE GAVE MADE ME FEEL THAT I HAVE COMMITTED THE MOST HEINOUS CRIME IN THE WORLD. So,what should I think of the leading profs of our country???
    By the way we eventually solved the problem by taking the help of a german hobbyist.
    U DECIDE!!!!!!!!!!!

    1. Hi Dev,

      Let me share a short excerpt from my discussion with the IIM, Bangalore ex-Director on the same:-
      A professor at IISc, IIT or anywhere for that matter has certain projects he would be working and will be engrossed in. He will have all his undergraduate and graduate students thinking on small tiny bits of the same. To the professors who are so passionate about their work, you are expected to approach them with some due homework. I have seen so many people coming to these research centres and asking if the professor has some part of project which he could offer to the students who may have no affiliation from the institution. The second kind of people just go to these professors and expect for solution.

      Students of either kind, please, no need to go that far to the institution. The answer will not be affirmative. Professors in the West and in these elite institutions expect you to find your way. At most they can hold the lantern and point a direction but the journey is for you to make.

      So don’t blame that the professor didn’t help you.

      (This was told to me by a very senior professor who still continues to be a visiting professor at IISc Management Studies department and IIM, Bangalore.)

      1. So now you force me to write a lengthy comment. Will be glad to!! Homework??? We had 4 blueprints for the chasis of the bot. but since we are not mechanical students, we were not sure which one would be the best option or rather which one would be fool proof!! And obviously we did not have that much of money to try every design. So what we did was, WE MET HIM WITH PRIOR APPOINTMENT, gave him all the details and asked him to suggest any amendments if necessary.
        Initially he was calm and heard everything,then he asked my college name (HE HAD ALREADY ASKED THAT WHEN WE ENTERED HIS ROOM). Then suddenly, AS IF THE DEMON POSSESSED HIM, he said, I quote him ” Why do you people try to do so much without having any knowledge of the basics? And I am very busy all the time and do not have the time to think about this stupid project!!” Now,i dont say he is bound to help me,BUT HE COULD HAVE SAID THE THINGS IN A POLITE WAY. And by the way,the german hobbyist
        appreciated my design due to the fact that we were not mechanical students. We are still friends with him. YEAH, MAYBE THAT PERSON WAS A ******** AND NOT ALL IITIANS ARE SAME,BUT NEXT TIME I WILL NEVER APPROACH AN IITIAN.

        1. Had faced problem of similar nature even though I am from IT-BHU. Agreed I hadn’t gone to level of designing 4 blueprints like you, still the responses I got were depressing. But this doesn’t mean we should quit. Good to see finally you got help. The system is far from perfect but instead of cursing and doing nothing and thinking even the best ones are not good enough, lets make the best use of available resources.
          Kudos to HSB. Posts from past 1-2 weeks have taken you to an altogether new level. Gr8 going.

          1. I know that. Thats why i said may be that paricular person was bad,but that response made us feel that we are good for nothing fellas coz we didnt appear IIT-JEE. LOL!

  16. Very well said..Totally agree with you..
    To all blaming the education system, before blaming the system, try asking yourself what you have done to uplift yourselves..agreed, our infrastructure is not at par with some of the developed countries, but have you ever tried to utilize the resources we have here..
    And before blaming IITs, NITs and IISc…try getting into one of them..

    1. To Indian students you may be surprised to find out that US students are often spoiled brats who are used to being spoon fed due to a pathetic overall public education system in the US. Courtesy is often non-existent! Many believe that there is no need to attend class and then whine when they receive a failing grade. Your level of maturity I believe will be much higher than many US students.

  17. Did you pay for getting high marks in your undergraduate exams? Iguess so,and that’s the reason why you are showing great support towards Indian Education system. I do agree,that one’s hardwork is very much essential,but at the same time,do universities give proper marks for deserving students always? Also,there is no proper practical exposure here. if u go and see IITs,they are so focused in their learning,instead of sitting and mugging for their exams,like students from other universities. Quality of education here must definitely improve in order to retain their number of students.

  18. Just one comment about the walking door to door at those schools.
    A lot of my seniors and people from my batch have done this. So have I. Sometimes, things don’t work out, because even after mails/calls/personally talking to them, they believe that we are not of ‘elite cadre’ to become an intern because of some xyz college we are from.

      1. Thanks Lavanya,

        However, it works. It’s about the Subtlety with which you put forth your candidature. With the polite people it’s the vigour and ardent desire that really gets you into his group.

        It’s a complex skill of understanding the other person that is really required.

        Personally, at NAL we find a lot of applicants swarming in from all over the country to pursue projects. That’s why I can pitch forward this point.

        Now, does it work even at IISc, IITs and NITs ? YES, it does. I got opportunity to start my own independent project at IISc and my professor (who happens to be the Director of the Department) was always shocked that I was designing and discussing problem solving of that complex nature ever since second year. It’s perseverance and hard work that it really needs to convince people once you have an initial base set.

        1. I’m just saying that there are exceptions, and so far I’ve met only these exceptions. Some have refused politely, some just plain rude with a ‘wait, which college?sorry’ or ‘we accept only first rankers of private colleges’. These first rankers tend to be students who go for placements.
          As an undergrad there’s only so much you can do on your own in terms of research especially in wet lab, and an intern is a good way to help build skills.
          I mean, unless there’s some influential person, profs are not that willing to have studentships. This is what I’ve seen among my classmates/seniors.

          Being a little more receptive of ‘what we’ve done and what we can do’ would be nice. That’s all.

      2. Exactly. The exact line!!! Our people see the brand only not the material. If all IITians are THE GREAT PEOPLE then why does a large fraction go into MBA in finance. Nothing against IITS just want to say there are some great minds in sum XYZ colleges.PLZZZ ATLEAST LISTEN TO THEM!!

  19. WoW, A champion of Indian education system. Mr. Prashanth, what is the purpose of having an institution for education. From your points I could only conclude that there is a little need of classroom teaching and practicals. Whatever….. I request Mr Prashanth, a project engineer at CSIR, to change the context of his reason and argument to life sciences. I’m not sure if a teacher is required for engineering subjects but seriously what about life science. Do you(Mr.Prashanth, a project engineer at CSIR) feel safe to take medication/surgery/anything else from a doctor or a pharmacist who was not trained/taught properly?
    These are few basic facts which you need to digest first.,
    1. Lack of good teachers will definitely hinder the growth of the student sometimes a student(if, smart enough) might develop his thoughts in an evil direction. And we do not often see people who are as positively motivated(on u’r own) as you are. You might be an exception.
    2. The professors/staff/university officials will not let you touch the equipments without qualified supervision. Your university might be an exception to this.
    3. Your third point is partly correct. But again a student who works hard and gets the concepts right without the supervision(like you) has some right to blame this system.
    4. I don’t know much about IIT’s, NITs and IISc’s.
    Summary: You can blame the system with caution. 😉

    1. Right. I HAD TO LITERALLY PAY A FINE OF 5000/- COZ I “MISHANDLED” AN WATTMETER AND WAS SCOLDED LIKE A 5 YEAR OLD WHEN I ASKED MY LAB ASSISTANT TO OPEN THE COVER A DC MOTOR. THIS IS THE PRACTICAL CLASSES IN INDIA. ACTUALLY,ITS NOT THE SYSTEM. THE PEOPLE HERE ARE A BIT LAZY AND RUN FROM EXTRA WORK!! If the lab assisstant had opened the case then,he had to again close it, and also had to explain what are the things inside it. So better scold the student and close the topic

      1. Well in my college, we are asked to give solutions to different practical problems in labs…also, if an equipment is not working properly or a component is dead, we are encouraged to find a solution for it or an alternative way to complete the experiment without using the dead component…

        1. Well that’s the main problem we are trying to discuss here Tapash. We/most universities did not have such alternatives. Forget abt alternatives they do not have basic equipment to teach the course. Can you imagine a clg with ACITE recognition not having sufficient chemicals to perform your desired experiment. It is not just the case with affiliated colleges. Even universities like Osmania belong to this category., I’m from osmaina and I have seen the biotech, genetics and many other labs .

      2. I had a similar problem ,,we have to do a lot of paper work to get clearance to use facility in the college ,,and they make us to sign that we would be responsible if any of the systems go wrong and has to bear the expenses .
        And worst thing happened the ultimate tensile strength machine got screwed and we had to shed 8000 rs to change the component in hydraulics ..even-though we were working in the safe limits mentioned in the catalog of the machine tolerance.

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