Six months ago when he was taking admission in a computer engineering course at a college in Pune’s Akurdi area, 19-year-old Atharva Ingle did not know that his batch would be a historic one. The Akola resident is one of 65 students enrolled in the Marathi-language course at the Pimpri Chinchwad College of Engineering (PCCOE), the only college in the country that has recorded full admission in its new division to teach engineering in the mother tongue.
Announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year and covered under the National Education Policy, the plan to teach engineering to students in their mother tongue was rolled out last year by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) in 19 selected engineering colleges across the country.
“This emphasis on mother tongue as the medium of instruction will instill confidence in students from poor, rural and tribal backgrounds,” Modi had said.
While it was assumed that the opportunity to learn in their mother tongue would entice many to seek admission in such courses, the ground reality is different.
Out of the 19 engineering colleges approved to start regional language divisions, nine did not get a single admission, while in the ten other colleges, batches are less than 50 per cent full, AICTE chairman Anil Sahastrabuddhe said.
“I think the concept is new and people were not even aware that such an option was available. There should have been more efforts to spread the word. It’s not as if the concept is not popular, because this year, 10 more colleges will be offering the regional language courses,” he said.
Lack of awareness is what Avijit Karmakar, principal of the Technique Polytechnic Institute in Hooghly blames for the Bengali-language diploma in electrical engineering having few takers. Only 16 of the 60 seats on offer were filled this year.
Comentarios