Dropout rates in Bangalore’s undergraduate engineering colleges in the current academic year have gone up to seven percent from two to three previously.
About seven undergraduate students per year in every branch of engineering are leaving mid-way throught their four-year course. Dr Sudharsha Reddy, the regional director of Visvesvarya Technological Univesity (VTU) said that this year the number of dropouts increased to seven percent, from a norm of two to three percent in previous years.
Amresha Kodapa, a student who dropped out from R.V. College of Engineering said that he didn’t find the course relevant to him and he wanted to pursue a career in humanities. He has ambitions to present his innovative ideas in the west and not in India.
Sudhanshu K., another engineering student from Bengaluru said that he couldn’t take the pressure to complete the semester and had to leave the course in the middle of it. He didn’t clear a few subjects in semester exams and backlogs piled up for the next successive mid semester exams. He struggled with severe depression and that added to his troubles on a physical and an academic level.
Earlier, engineering dropouts were not so common—one to two students in engineering courses leave their studies in either two and three years but now every year on an average twelve to fifteen students are leaving their course.
However, Dr. Reddy said that if one looked at the numbers of engineering colleges that have emerged over the past few years, the proportion of dropouts is not much. Dr. Reddy said,“Dropouts are very common now–a-days. At present in Bengaluru region there are more than 120 engineering colleges. In the last 25 years more than 90 colleges have emerged. So, if one takes the average, it is quite similar to earlier years.”
He added that students usually fail to clear semester exams and because of that they get tense and stressed out. They opt for the easy way out and dropout instead of working on clearing the exams. He suggested that students introspect and realize that they opted for engineering to become engineers and not to clear examinations only which becomes their prime objective after they join the courses.
Nishant Singh, higher education expert said that engineering students dropout mainly because of the structure and design of the curriculum. If universities make the syllabi more student friendly then the issue of dropout will be resolved very easily.
Singh added that “The reason for dropouts apart from blaming engineering institutes and universities is the mindset of the students and their parents, peer expectations etc. They see that engineering is the most elite and secured profession to pursue.”
Prof. Indraneel Sen from Indian Institute of Science (IISc) said that one of the best solutions to reduce the pace of dropout could be achieved by stopping the mushrooming of engineering colleges in the city and other parts of the country.
