How engineering entrance examinations are choosing rote learners?

INDIA, ONE OF THE LARGEST PRODUCERS OF ENGINEERS

India being the 2nd most populated nation in the world, presents no shock to us that it is one of the largest producers of engineers in the world. Despite the fact, India falls way behind the leading countries in this aspect i.e. China, Russia, Germany, and the USA. India is a young nation with an average age lying between 25-30 years and fails to cope with these leading countries. In the place where India should act as the world leader in the technical field, fails to retain its top engineers from settling abroad and working for other countries.

WHERE ARE THE ROOTS OF THIS PROBLEM?

Many may say that the roots of the alarming problem lie in the engineering institutes, and the faculties themselves. But that is not the case! The Indian government spends millions for the smooth functionality of some of the prestigious institutions of India i.e. IITs, NITs, IIITs, and other govt. and govt aided institutions all over the country. The government also doesn't fail to hire top-class faculties across the globe to come forward and teach young minds.

These top institutions not only provide you with quality labs but also promote and push students towards accepting a research-based approach. Despite all these collective efforts we somehow fail to achieve the title of a global leader in the field of education. IIT Bombay, considered the top university of India, hasn't been able to achieve a rank in the top 10 world universities.

The root cause of this problem lies in the elimination process used during the entrance in these TOP INDIAN UNIVERSITIES. Have you ever wondered how do universities like STANFORD, OXFORD, HARVARD can achieve top ranks, and produce world-leading alumni? They start preparing even before the admissions! A candidate not only has to excel in studies but also needs to impress the university with his/her external knowledge and his research work in the field he is opting to study for. And after extensive consideration, the candidate is either selected or rejected.

In the written examinations, these universities check your aptitude and application techniques in that particular subject and stream you will be opting for. Thus, they go for a 360° evaluation of a candidate. This kind of narrow process of evaluation ensures that the candidate is completely suitable for the course he is opting for.

Whereas despite knowing about the diversity of engineering we make every candidate go through a single kind of examination. These generally include assessment of physics, chemistry, and mathematics. This means, that a student who is suitable for pursuing computer science has to mug up the reactions in chemistry have to know the science behind carbon bonding, has to extensively go into details of the law of gravitation, and many more.

BUT ironically, he/she is not asked about his knowledge in the field of computers, or his aptitude in the field of coding, which he wants to pursue. This gets all different kinds of students in the same puddle, which gives a boost to an unhealthy competition which not only adds up to the anxiety for students but also snatches the opportunity from a deserving candidate. Due to this kind of evaluation process, the RANKS determine the streams of the students, which is supposed to be done by their aptitude and inclination towards a specific field.

This inefficient and outdated evaluation system promotes the selection of inefficient candidates. Many coaching giants in India offer material and classes for cracking these examinations which have certainly grown into a bumper business. In the line of getting good ranks, students are supposed to learn formulas and tones of reactions and facts, and because of which a good rote learner gets an edge over an analytical thinker who may not have a good learning power.

Despite being taught the derivations and induce the essence of analytical thinking, these students are asked to learn away big confusing formulas to maintain a good speed in exams and get a good rank. This not only forbids children from developing research-based skills but also promotes rote learning habits which stab and murder a potential Nobel laureate.

These practices become a silent killer of the ambitions of young minds, and gives the greed of a good job and money, due to which a student ends up entering in a field he/she is least interested in. This subsequently increases drop-out rates, suicides, and depression among students across our country.

WHAT IS THE SOLUTION TO THIS PROBLEM?

The introduction of the narrow examination patterns can be considered as the best solution to this blooming problem. For example, for the computer science engineering entrance exams, an assessment of coding and problem-solving skills and aptitude along with basic math's, and for the electronics and communication engineering entrance exams an assessment of physics and aptitude will not only select the deserving candidates but also decrease the rank-based discrimination which students face for selection of their engineering streams.

In addition to this, assessment of in-person knowledge of the candidate along with evaluation of his/her minor achievements in the field can also be taken into consideration to ensure the selection of a deserving candidate.