"Professional" Assassination.
When the ICSE and the ISC results were declared about a week back,I wondered if the kids are being pushed as relentlessly and inexorably as they were some years back,towards getting admission in a certain college... or have parents and teachers finally woken up to the fact that advertising ,or even white water rafting could be a career option.

When I was at that stage some three or four years back,I had noticed a lot of children my age being subjected to that parental/educational/social pressure to clear half a dozen entrance exams to be able to study a professional( read law,medicine,engineering,sciences,architecture etc) \ncourse.Those studying something like Mass Communications,Sociology,International Relations,English,or even Physics,Chemistry or Math as a three year course, were considered to be academically challenged. unless of course,he or she would be graduating from St.Stephens,St,Xavier's ,Presidency or someplace synonymous,in which case the child gets a pat on the back.
At that point of time,I was too young,too dazzled,too innocent and too slow to catch on.I was quite bewildered by this "branding" in education.And yes, I am a part of this "professional" bandwagon now.
Now that i have neared the end of this crazy endeavour to obtain that pseudo status badge that comes with the degree and some of my contemporaries have already obtained theirs.. i find myself trying to analyze certain things.

My upbringing has taught me to believe that education implies much more than what is in a text book.It makes one more superior as a person ,and instills certain principles and values in him or her.After having interacted with both students and professors from many places,and varied courses, I at times doubt what I have learnt. \n\n \nAs unpleasant and harsh as it may sound,there are professors in both IIT and non-IIT intstitutes with extremely provincial mindsets and outlooks who impart in the the name of "technical" education,tips to write that perfect paper or ways to crack a problem... but will almost always discourage his students to think and try out something new fangled,seemingly unpractical or theoretically unsound.

At that point of time,I was too young,too dazzled,too innocent and too slow to catch on.I was quite bewildered by this "branding" in education.And yes, I am a part of this "professional" bandwagon now.

Now that i have neared the end of this crazy endeavour to obtain that pseudo status badge that comes with the degree and some of my contemporaries have already obtained theirs.. i find myself trying to analyze certain things.

My upbringing has taught me to believe that education implies much more than what is in a text book.It makes one more superior as a person ,and instills certain principles and values in him or her.After having interacted with both students and professors from many places,and varied courses, I at times doubt what I have learnt.

As unpleasant and harsh as it may sound,there are professors in both IIT and non-IIT intstitutes with extremely provincial mindsets and outlooks who impart in the the name of "technical" education,tips to write that perfect paper or ways to crack a problem... but will almost always discourage his students to think and try out something new fangled,seemingly unpractical or theoretically unsound.
Some of the engineers I see,civil or genetic engineers, are from the backward pockets of Bihar or Jharkhand who have managed to acquire no professional knowledge or skill,and have certainly not deciphered the meaning of professional values,ethics and principles.They have neither the inclination nor the grey matter to try out something new. They are ,however, very aware of how eligible their degree makes them in the marriage market.On the other hand there are some who have at last realized that they were never meant to be a part of this rat race. Due to all the information,opportunity and freedom from parental pressure they get to discover that they could be journalists,watch designers or food connoisseurs.

My friend, a law student now,has already decided to become a drummer after his graduation. Another child,after having studied architecture for just two years has found his true calling-photography.And I hope i get to be that bartender when i finish college.

In this world where we are under constant pressure to perform,hand in assignments and what not...Long live the photocopier... it mass produces copies of soiled notes the night before the exam. Viva the " cut-copy-paste" technique,anything can be duplicated.Copyrighting had long lost its meaning.We promote team work when an entire class gets marked on an assignment that only one student has worked on. Oh yes... we get by.

Though we aren't a student of Economics,Sociology,History or English... any one of us could write a dissertation or a short thesis on anything from the history of the rock-n-roll movement,South East Asian Trade relations to Maupassant.We burn a lot of rubber on the roads,live at places ranging from the roadside dhaba to anyplace more fancy... and gain a lot of wisdom form such a lifestyle... if not knowledge.I need not be a software engineer to know about Web 2.0.I need not be an architect to know of Dorian column and arches."


In retrospect,our "professional"education had not contributed one bit to what we are today,not in terms of knowledge,capacity or skill;nor in terms of being more "educated" beings with lofty thoughts and noble intentions who are a class apart.

We are a generation who are tech savvy and are equipped with more information that we can handle.Our parents and professors ,in contrast, are still trying to grapple with "technology".They are living in awe of it, and at a subconscious level often get massively confused by it all.We on the other hand,try to modify it,live it.. and not give it such a name.We do not try to figure out the intricacies, we build up on it.When we try to give shape to one of the many "ideas": that we get, we don't call it "entrepreneurship", and we are definitely not aware of which of our "professional"skills or what "technical" knowledge we are exercising.

I do not intend to be offensive or insulting,but will people ever accept that a college degree is ...just a college degree.An eighteen year old who had just cleared the class 12 exams cannot possibly know if he or she wants to be a corporate lawyer or an aeronautical engineer.A subject like nutrition or commerce is not an insipid course... nor does it signify a students level of intelligence.What counts, is what you eventually do in life after having utilized all available resources.Three ,four,or five years of college changes ones perspective drastically.And that is when, with the help and support of the parents does an individual know what he or she wants to do in life. Till then.... professional education is a farce.Anything and everything has a future.... anything could be lucrative or not so.... irrespective of what the degree gives you.

The other day i found myself talking to a few old friends... some seniors who are now practising lawyers,some scientists who are doing research in hilariously obscure things.... some who have just finished their engineering courses... and some like me,are waiting for it all to end.
One who graduated from a certain engineering college said rather gleefullly,".... the end of engineering!"
Another very solemnly and wisely stated," Dude,with us having become engineers,it certainly is the end of engineering."

And that,is that.