Students palm off readied projects

(File Photo)
Faculty in engineering colleges 'guiding' pupils to centres selling 'homework' on FOR students of engineering, project work is part of the curriculum, but how many students sincerely put in ef-forts to do the work is the moot point. Because, of late, there are ready-made projects available on the market that students buy and pass them off as `their work' . What is more shocking is that college faculties 'guide' the students to seek out project `manufacturers' . This trend of going in for prefabricated projects could take a toll on the students' future as they are bound to get stumped in job interviews, where technical knowledge will be tested by resource persons. A 24-year-old city-based youth G Vi-nith Raja spent around 29,500 for buying a fabricated project.

"Just like every company has a marketing team, people from these project-selling units dress up as students, enter colleges to advertise their work," he says. Vinith also got training from a project centre on the questions that will be raised at times of viva and how the answers should be delivered. It was a two-member team project, so Vinith and his friend divided their work as who should answer if the external examiner raises questions. In mechanical engineering, students have to do two projects in their four years of study, at their third and final years, while other engineering students will have project work only during the final year. The ready-made projects are available for all the branches of engineering, and the first thing students should do after they were instructed by their faculties to generate a project idea, then the student should get in touch with the project-selling unit to browse the list of fabricated projects which are avail-able. "In some cases, we will inform the students of the project available and if the students have their own idea, we will make a new one exclusively for them," says R Manikandan, who runs a project-selling unit. The students of engineering and polytechnic colleges are considered regular customers of the project centres, he says. The project related to computer engineering could be sold anywhere between 25,000 and Z20,000 based on the student's preference. That's not all, a special training-cum-mock viva will be provided for the students at an extra cost, Manikandan adds. "The faculties or the project
guide should understand what the students are going to do. For that, a presentation on basic insight into the projects by the students beforehand will be the one possible way to stop students from buying ready-made projects," says the assistant professor from a renowned engineering college in the city. Another aspect of this trend is that colleges sell their old projects dated three years ago to these project-selling units for a prescribed amount and the same will be bought by the students. Most of the engineering college management which Express interact-ed with are concerned over their student's future, as rejecting their project

Only a few have skills The National Programming Skills-Engineer Report 2017 by Aspiring Minds says only 36% engineers are able to write compatible code. The report is based on a sample of more than 36,800 students from over 500 colleges across the country. In addition, only 7.6% of candidates in the Chennal-based engineering colleges are skillful.

In some cases, we will inform the students of the project available and if the students have their own idea, we will make a new one exclusively f or them


Faculties made accountable: Registrar Registrar of Anna University S Ganesan says the university has been instructing students not to buy ready-made projects. "We've been receiving Information from various sources that some of the engineering faculties are allegedly directing their students to project-selling units, and the university can take stringent action to the extent of even firing the teachers," the Registrar adds. Similarly, Alok Prakash Mittal, member secretary of All India Council for Technical Education (AKTE) who was in the city recently for an event told Express that the students who are taking a shortcut by buying ready-made projects are not bothered about their long-term goal as what their future will be. "The faculty should inculcate sincerity and the educational quality in the students," says the AKTE member-secretary.
at the viva-voce will lead them in dis-tress, according to engineering colleges. Speaking to Express, educationist Prince Gajendra Babu says, "The students by submitting the replica or fin-ished projects will face a heavy loss in the long-term as he or she will lack the important field exposure at the time of final year" Teachers fail to verify the submitted projects considering the minimal time set for the academic year, Prince says adding that the teachers should allow students to present their project be-forehand of viva-voce to find out how much the students know

Source:epaper.newindianexpress.com/c/20067423