Mental and social abilities of both sets of students will also be measured.
The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) will soon assess the learning levels of engineering as well as management students during the course of their study.
It is taking the step for the first time amid concerns that Indian engineers lack new-age tech skills.
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Subjects Covered
The project, called Student Learning Assessment, will test management students on skills like ability in planning and organising human, financial and physical resources.
For engineering students, it will test skills in emerging areas like blockchain technology and artificial intelligence, core engineering knowledge, and basic knowledge of maths, physics and chemistry.
Mental and social abilities of both sets of students will also be measured.
How It Will Work
It will be an online assessment for all branches of engineering and management across all AICTE-affiliated colleges in India
Apart from evaluation of skills, it will also pick out gaps in a student’s abilities and work to correct it.
A student’s employability will also be gauged through the test which will consist of questionnaires according to their year of study.
AICTE member Secretary Rajive Kumar said that institutes are being asked to extend the test to teachers as well so as to improve their teaching quality.
Declining Employability
In the past, other similar attempts were made such as the ‘India Skills Report’ which was released annually, in association with the AICTE, Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and other private agencies.
But the new project is unique in that it tests students who are still enrolled.
The India Skills Report has brought out some concerning employability statistics on Indian graduates.
This year’s report shows that the employability of B.E./B.Tech. graduates have declined over the years.
According to the 2015 report, 54% of graduates were employable, but the number came down to 46.8% in 2021.
Stanford Study Puts India Ahead
The idea of a pan-India assessment on engineering and management students emerged after a study on a small number of institutions was undertaken by Stanford University two years ago.
It focused on students from 167 institutions from India and compared their learning levels to those in China, Russia, and other nations.
It was after this study that an internal committee recommended a larger study for Indian institutes by the Indian body itself.
This would help in not just assessment of the students but can also help institutes take corrective measures.
These measures include appointing a new faculty member if students find a subject challenging or to modify the teaching approach.
Though the complete report of the Stanford study isn’t out yet, sources said the preliminary findings puts India ahead of China and Russia In terms of students’ learning abilities when they reach senior classes.
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