Education is Business III contd....

Previously:

Education is Business - I

Education is Business - II

Education is Business - III

I got one more question, not from a friend but from someone who perhaps has not seen the way Indian education works. Don't know whether you have thought about it but I used to think about it a lot in FE and SE and the answer was a foregone conclusion. Anyhow, spelling it out in clear words for those who aren't acquainted with India. (For those who know it all, don't laugh..... remember the days in school when you too thought like this)

7) "The Indian education system is famous throughout the world. We have produced winners who have succeeded in foreign lands. It's your lack of initiative that's actually to blame. The system might not be that good but then you too are not the best student. Your actions while assigning culpability only indicate an escapist attitude."

My answer:

(After I stop laughing.) Why is our education system famous? The biggest reason I believe is the few people who come out as winners. These guys have succeeded against all odds. They have succeeded inspite of the system rather than because of it. Infact they are so good, that they usually rush abroad. Having gone through the trying circumstances of their graduate years, they can now win anywhere. They usually win here too. And when all the people from one country start winning, people in the host country have to find some reason for their success. 'Hey! This guy is smart and I am dumb' is not the most palatable of reasons. So they settle for the second best reason, 'He received excellent education. No wonder he is a success.'

I salute those who can come up inspite of the odds but it does not say a lot about the system. We need to look at the general output, not at the exceptions, and this is where we face disappointment. The question as I see it seeks to base itself on exceptions. Now, how do I define exceptions? (They are the guys who make it big as said in the previous para) To use layman language they are CS engineers who do not need training when they enter a Infosys/Wipro/TCS. Google does not train its engineers (entry level training like Infy etc.) and also does not hire many from India. The very fact that the Infy HR manager says, 'Courses you are studying are not industry relevant. So we do not test you for technical knowledge. We believe we can train you in that part if you have the basic aptitude.' is enough to put me to shame. The general output here needs the training.

About the personal initiative part, I believe this question blames students. So are they to blame? Yes, partly. But let me give you an analogy. The people for whom you have to write code are idiots. What do you do? Whine about how your customers are idiots or write idiot-proof code? What I seek to prove is that like in any other business, you cannot put the whole blame on the customer's shoulder. You have to mould yourself according to the customer.

Another point is that the students here are not exactly idiots. Many Indians after they visit the US become exceptionally better equipped with technical knowledge. The CS engineer learns more in his job training of a few months than he does in the four years of engineering. In a stimulating environment even the below average Indian student can perform. This tells me that the fault is not entirely of students.

When a system does not work and when we have proof staring us in the face let's not still live in a fool's paradise. That's escapist as far as I know the definition of the word.


CONCLUDED

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Digressing from the topic, my brother has just given me a certificate: No 1 time waster who has got no other work and sits warming his butt writing long usless blog posts.

He also intends to give a certificate to the person who has read the whole Education is Business 'series' on my blog: NO 2 time waster who has got no other work and sits warming his butt reading long useless blog posts.

Any contenders?