Some of us in Marcellus have been recruiting Indian graduates fresh out of university for over two decades. Over the past decade we have seen a sharp dip in the quality of graduates emerging from India’s universities including from the elite IITs and IIMs. Speaking to friends in other firms, we find that the situation is similar across a range of industries. Recruiters in Pharma, FMCG and IT Services are just as bewildered as we are as to how the quality of Indian graduates has deteriorated so sharply. This op-ed piece from The Hindu – published 14 years ago – gives some pointers as to what is going on. Whilst the piece focuses on the IITs, our view is that it is just as applicable to other Indian universities. Nemmani Sreedhar writes for The Hindu:
“The doyen of Indian software industry N.R. Narayana Murthy caused quite a flutter in the academic circles by stating that the quality of students coming out of the coveted Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) is on a steady decline. In a state that prides itself on the number of students it sends in to these elite institutes every year, this comment is indeed significant. But is the quality of students really going down?
Eminent educationalist, IIT guru and MLC Chukka Ramaiah believe that the quality of the students has indeed gone down. The octogenarian, who successfully guided many students into the IITs since 1985, feels that the change in the IIT entrance exams has a major share in the deterioration of the situation. “Before the year 2000 students had to attempt descriptive questions where the method in which they attempted a question was also examined, apart from the answers.
This resulted in IITs enrolling students with better understanding and creative thought process.
But after 2000 the exam pattern was changed and Multiple Choice Questions were introduced where it was important for a student to come up with a correct answer rather than knowing the process of solving the given problem,” he explained. “IITs are not engineering colleges but are educational institutions where a student is expected to gain skills rather than just information. But present day students who go to IITs are only going on the basis of the rote knowledge,” Mr. Ramaiah said. In an age where technologies are changing very frequently, the need for the creativity and the ability to adapt as well as contribute qualitatively towards the developments is crucial, he opined. Mr. Narayana Murthy’s statement points out this very aspect where present day students are unable to maintain the quality that their seniors could achieve, he said.”
A range of Engineering graduates who have seen India’s Joint Entrance Examination system change over the past 25 years agree that the system stopped working long ago i.e. instead of measuring aptitude, it began measuring the ability to cram. However, until AI came along this change in emphasis (away from creativity & learning and towards cramming) hadn’t made itself felt in the job market. Now, however, recruiters are hesitant to recruit Indian graduates knowing full well that soon the majority of repetitive tasks in a range of industries – including IT Services, Financial Services and Media – will be performed by machines. However, a shift away from what really matters isn’t the only problem bedevilling the IITs. Nemmani Sreedhar writes:
“Some students of IITs also feel that there is a general deterioration in the academic atmosphere inside these modern temples. “Many students only dream of getting into an IIT and once they enter any of these institutes they loose interest in the studies,” a student of IIT Chennai opined.
“During their preparation for the IIT entrance exams students get used to a regime where they only have to remember an answer to a particular question. But in IITs a student is expected to understand the process and come up with creative answers. People are pushed to think here and that is where most students lack,” he said. Students are interested in gaining the marks and are not interested in understanding the concepts, this is reflected in the recent trend during the placements, he said. While students clear the written tests during the placement exams, they fail to clear an interview, he said….
“Our professors usually say that earlier an IIT used to have a very vigorous academic atmosphere which used to goad a student to perform well. But as the students are taking easier path by maintaining just an acceptable Cumulative General Point Average (CGPA), the quest and competition to out perform each other and come up with innovative ideas is not there,” he lamented.”
No entrance exam system is perfect but it is possible to have a highly competitive entrance exam system focused on knowledge & creativity rather than on rote learning. So, why did India pivot its university entrance exam system towards rote learning? Did vested interests play a part? If they did, then they did not anticipate the disruption from AI which is rendering vast swathes of Indian graduates redundant.
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Note: The above material is neither investment research, nor financial advice. Marcellus does not seek payment for or business from this publication in any shape or form. The information provided is intended for educational purposes only. Marcellus Investment Managers is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and is also an FME (Non-Retail) with the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) as a provider of Portfolio Management Services. Additionally, Marcellus is also registered with US Securities and Exchange Commission (“US SEC”) as an Investment Advisor.
