Monday, May 7, 2001		Article

Teaching or cheating?
By Peeyush Agnihotri

DINGY stairs leading to ply-partitioned cubicles, less than 10 computers, smooth-talking counsellors and faculty members who have just stepped out of teens. Welcome to the hottest commercial trend — computer-training institutes that have grown faster than water hyacinth and exist cheek by jowl in Chandigarh and its vicinity (conservative estimates put the number of such "shops" at 60 in Sector 34, Chandigarh, alone).

The number of genuine institutes is diminishing and to pursue a course from a fly-by-night institute could be a nightmare. Untrained faculty members are changed more frequently than a calendar’s page, courses are prolonged much beyond the stipulated time, courses are clubbed on the basis of popularity rather than relevance and, above all, the fees are no joke. As a result, students develop I-didn’t-get-what-I-deserved syndrome halfway through the course.

"I joined the course in August 2000, when I was promised that my course on Web-designing would finish in four months. Today it has been more than eight months and my course has not finished. I have already spent Rs 12,000 on the course (that includes the course fee for advanced course in Java) and the end is nowhere in sight. Further, faculty members are kept on a part-time basis and we have to sometimes help the teacher understand the topic. It’s a case of student and faculty member learning the same thing at the same time," Anoop Boparai, a resident of Sector 33, who enrolled with Oorja Systems, a Sector 34-based institute alleges.

However, S.C. Malik from the institute says: "The course is extended beyond the stipulated time because most of the time students do not turn up. As far as the issue of part-time faculty is concerned, I find them more committed and devoted."

Getting a trained faculty member is a problem of humungous proportions for computer institutes. More often than not most of them are fresh pass-outs from an institute of a similar kind, if not the same one. They are kept at an average salary of Rs 5,000 and they frequently hop jobs, "At least 10 faculty members were changed during my six-month course at a Sector 34-based institute that has now been extended by more than four months. What they teach is anyone’s guess," says a girl student, preferring anonymity.

Courses are tailored on the basis of what’s selling in the market rather than the relevance. Even course duration is projected wrongly. A Sector 34-based institute promises to finish off the WAP, WML, and WML script courses under the m-commerce module in three weeks flat. "This is just not possible," says IT-expert.

Zap Infotech offers a course package that focuses on Web designing at level 1. The next three levels are interactive-programming oriented. Why combine designing and programming? "The syllabus has been finalised by the Universal College of Australasia on the basis of the popularity of the course," Gurdeep, a counsellor at the centre, says, and adds hastily that though no decision has been reached as yet, certificates may still be issued for individual course levels also.

Another institute situated on Madhya Marg has clubbed Oracle and Visual Basic courses together, merely on the basis of popularity. The list is endless.

"Most of the courses are diffused and not focussed. A lot of them are not recognised by the government. The institutes need to identify two to three curricula rather than resorting to money-making gimmicks," says Naveen Kundu from C-DAC, a government recognised institute, says.

A lot of students complain about course material. "We are not provided with courseware. Even teachers have not been given books. Further, we are being taught on a very old version of Dreamweaver. Even the CD of Flash Version 5 was provided by a fellow student," Renu, a student pursuing a course in Web-designing, laments.

After labouring assiduously for extended months does the course done by a student hold any relevance?

A certificate is of little or no relevance. "Ultimately it is the competence and professional skill of the student that helps him get a placement," says Manu Bhaskar from Maya Academy.

Pankaj Sukhija from Intellistudent opines that the quality and the certification differ from institute to institute. "Some of the high-end technical courses like Bluetooth, C#, etc., are not popular in India currently as the technology to use these languages has not reached here. For the high-end courses that are relevant abroad, the faculty is not trained adequately to impart training to students. Hence, even if a student does such courses for brightening his prospects of getting a job abroad, his knowledge and understanding of the subject will not be on a par with the international standards," he contends.

"Teach" and "cheat" use the same set of letters and at present in the business of computer training a very fine line separates them. In what order should these letters be placed? The onus rests entirely on the academies.