3 idiots & guru devo bhava

This is not a review of the movie 3 idiots – I liked the movie a lot

This is not a comment on 3 Idiots and ragging controversy – hmmm… too much!!!

This is not a comment on Chetan Bhagat – 3 idiots team controversy (to add, I am on Chethan Bhagat’s side :D. There a bit too much Five point someone in 3 idiots to put his credit in the end credit roll, below all artists in a small, easy to not notice font. But I also mention that screenplay writer Abhijat Joshi did a couple of cool changes to save the movie from ending up being a documentary. And I am not referring to all the “original” jokes in the movie which even a canteen boy in every engineering college would have heard)

But Professor Viru Shastrabudhe of the movie got me thinking. This blog is more about arrogance with which Prof Virus announce to a student’s parents on phone that their son is not graduating this year. It is so typical of most engineering college.

Recently I had the good fortune of interacting with few teachers of a reputed private engineering college. And I should say the teachers were a bunch of arrogant people. The tutor (junior most) was arrogant, the professor was more arrogant and the department head was the most arrogant. I think teachers in the government college where I studied were angels when compared to them.

I was wondering what made teachers so rude. Then I heard these colleges are what are called deemed universities, especially the kind of ones mushrooming in all of south India. These colleges have huge funds and resources and are owned by wealthy and powerful, which is also why they easily get the deemed status. With deemed status comes opportunity to set industry standard syllabus, do international standard research, to impart international standard training, freedom to start classes on time, freedom to conduct exam on time, set relevant exam questions, correct exam papers in house without delay and a lot more. This is tried, tested and successful higher education model followed all over the developed world. But when this freedom is mixed with “greed for power” that we Indian’s have, it becomes dangerous. The typical faculty and management is interested is power that deemed status brings. “The Power to write the destiny of a student”

The faculty is not mature enough to handle all the power that comes into their hand. The power to set exam papers, correct them and give marks or grades is the most used feature here. Teachers openly blackmail students, force students to submission, demand respect, become arrogant and boss around kids. Students are literally afraid of opposing anything because in the end whether you walk out of the institution with a degree or not is entirely up to the professors. The students who meekly submit to all the arrogance and wag their tail to make professors happy are rewarded with good marks. The colleges also rig the exams to show the quality of education imparted as very high to aspiring engineering students and their parents. It has also started interesting classification of colleges in south, like some colleges are good for some particular religion and some are good for some particular caste and so on.

How to help this situation? I don’t know. But will for sure like to hear from you.

Probably

Mandatory specialized personality training and counseling for teachers

An audit process for education system and grading

Some central student’s grievances redressing system

College Politics … !!!! (Although I am not much for this, I remember a lot of Anti-Autonomy strikes and protests by left front students group in our college)

To end … a recent favorite song from 3 idiots

Lyricist: Swanand Kirkire did a rocking job here :D

Saari umar hum

Mar mar ke jee liye

Ek pal to ab humein

Jeene do Jeene do

Na na na….Na na na….Na na na….Na na nana na….

Give me some sunshine

Give me some rain

Give me another chance

I wanna grow up once again

..........

Bachpan to gaya

Jawani bhi gayi

Ek pal to ab humein

Jeene do jeene do

..........