State of IT Education


By Umer Asif
It was not long ago when information technology was the most "in" field and IT education the most sought after. The internet was to make miracles happen and the mean machine on every desktop was the gateway to riches and prosperity and the sole solution to the country's problems was IT. Soon enough, the balloon burst and most of the people who ran for it, couldn't reach the end of the rainbow to find the pot of gold that was promised by an over-enthusiastic government that had miscalculated everything and misjudged the results.

Those who were already into the IT business reaped the benefits, but the ones who were in the process of becoming the future IT pioneers realized that the path was not that smooth after all. Let's explore the current state of IT education to understand what we have done and where we are headed.

At the time the government had announced that IT was the need of the hour, it should have realized the adverse effect of pumping too much adrenaline into the system. Mesmerized by its own enthusiasm, it had made no calculation as what should be done and how much of every thing should be done. No one had analyzed the IT market to determine where we stood and what we needed to target in order to achieve a breakthrough.

No homework was done to work out the quantity of human resources or quality of the skills that was to be taught. Instead, they just kept blowing their horn as if IT wasa battlefield they wanted everyone to charge forward aimlessly. No one knew what to target but everyone was after the booty. The booty in this case was the myriads of naive IT students who became the unsuspecting target of a multitude of the roadside "IT institutes" that had mushroomed like a nuclear reaction gone haywire - springing literally in every nook and cranny of the country. Short course in Microsoft Office was dubbed IT, and Java the critical tool of the future.

The government in its ecstasy did not realize the implications of what it had initiated. Instead, they celebrated in unabashed glee the success of their campaign. The reality dawned on them once they realized that the standard of education and quality of training at these mushrooming "IT institutes" had hit rock bottom. Those graduating from these institutes were appointed at high salaries and were then fired from their jobs when their employers found that they could not deliver what was expected of them. It was then that the government realized the need to formulate and implement rules and laws to regulate IT institutes and accredit them.

One wonders why the government itself first creates an untoward situation then watches it growing out of hand and clamps regulations when it is too late.

Had the people in authority given the situation some forethought, or had taken the initiative to nip the problem in the bud, the resources wasted could have been channelled much more judiciously.

What's it all about?

IT education can be classified into two broad categories: professional and non-professional. Professional education is for those who aim to specialize in IT and computer sciences and adopt it as a career. Education for the non-professional is about enlightening the general public about the usage of computing to make work more efficient, and imparting them the skills to be able to use this new technology in their day-to-day life. This category also includes computer literacy for children and making then adept in computing skills and not necessarily encouraging them into taking it up as a career. Both these categories of education are vital for our national needs. But having a techno-wise nation and having people who keep making this technology are two different things and require tangentially different approaches.

Small IT institutes that offer a separate course for every software application can cater only to the non-professional requirement. Still, the question of how they design these courses to mint money over a long period of time lingers on. Nevertheless, they do teach their students to an acceptable level.

On the other hand, professional students cannot survive without proper all-round training by teachers having a much higher qualification and extensive experience. This can only be achieved under a proper university environment. Internet, word processing, website designing, operating software and an acceptable level of programming skills are becoming an integral part of everyone's life. These are the skills that everyone should have and can acquire easily. In fact, they are a prerequisite these days. But they are hardly the skills that a professional IT institute has to waste time on.

Following are some facts that we must consider about IT education:

* An IT professional is not a software application user, or a web designer or someone who has learned Java, Flash or the likes of them. Even some of the universities that claim Asian rankings indulge in giving this notion. We must realize that learning to operate something is the requirement of an operator (computer operator, for instance) a technician does. The rapid pace at which technology changes, these utilities would soon become outdated and so would be the IT professional.

* For a complete upbringing and development of a student he or she must be proficient in a broad range of subjects including economy, management and humanities besides his own technical coursework. Such subjects empower a student with the critical skills and analytical abilities that ensure his effective survival in the practical world

* It must be realized that success in IT requires a creative approach with shrewd skills and the ability to influence a market that is already occupied by giant corporations which have a choke-collar hold over the clientele. In such a difficult situation just another "operator" or organization is of no importance.

In brief, a proper institute is one that empowers the students with the core skills and concepts and not with just operations. However, a review of the course outlines of many of our acclaimed institutes shows that these observations have never been taken into consideration. In the end, it is the students who suffer the consequences.

Neglecting R&D

Our educational institutions fail utterly to give any importance to research and development. In contrast, institutes and universities in more advanced countries are the hubs of technological development and key producers of change. Industries entrust them with development, and the faculty and graduate research staff actively pursue research.

In IT, too, R&D is in a state of criminal neglect. Faculty and students are unable to produce sufficient technology solutions even for their own needs, let alone catering to customers. Few of our institutes are implementing software for their own automation needs?The problem lies in our attitude and approach. Our students as well as teachers look for readymade solutions and refrain from exerting ourselves. It is incumbent that our universities nurture an environment of research and development; this would be beneficial for both the country and the institutes.

Harmful policies

The government, its policies and commitments are largely responsible for creating a number of irreversible problems for us. The government has always been an under-achiever but the promises and resolutions that it makes in the process do the most harm. Here we analyze some of the promises that the government made pertaining to education and their current standing:

* There was talk of free internet to educational institutes but the concept was never wholly implemented. Proper access to internet is a perpetual requirement for young scholars and the faculty. Due credit must be given to the government for making bandwidth more affordable, but the promised free internet still remains an elusive dream. Institutes are now themselves working into buying more bandwidth but what they get is still insufficient for the need of the students and the faculty. There is much talk about online learning and teaching but none of these can be achieved through the dead slow internet connections that many of our institutes have.

* Another promise made by the IT ministry was that it would facilitate assistance in hiring qualified foreign faculty. But we don't see any substantial work on this. The problem thus remains serious and, with small private institutes offering lucrative salaries, major institutes become the sufferers.

* Another step that the government had promised to take and is still pasted there on the IT commission website is to: "Network all universities, engineering and medical colleges, and institutions of higher learning in the country for improved quality of education." In spite of this being a broad and undefined aim, the nation is still awaits to see this "improved quality of education" that is to be achieved through "networking" materialize.

* Opening a number of new IT institutes was also on the agenda. Considering the fact that it takes a long time for a new institute to produce its first batch of graduates, one wonders if we have sufficient resources - material and human - for such a development. Instead, ifresources were directed to existing institutes, the outcome could have been immediate and more productive.

* The Qarz-i-Hasana (interest-free loan) and scholarship scheme of the ministry appears to be an excellent initiative. The government should provide more financial support to institutes and students both in the public and private sectors.

* The government has taken the right step towards regulating institutes but the process needs to speed up and become more effective. Once the mushroom growth of these institutes is controlled the excess inflow of useless manpower could be stopped.

More observations

The list can go on endlessly. One can pick up each and every IT education policy of the government and keep ranting about its weaknesses. But here some major issues can be pointed out:

Virtual University: For the VU to become a successful initiative, it is necessary that the faculty members be proficient in the concept and the technology involved. Unfortunately, some of the professors cannot effectively use the internet, let alone operate a VU. (This is where the non-professional computer training has to play a part.)

Moreover, modern teaching techniques - such as use of multimedia and online integration - are still to be brought into practice in many of the institutes. Until this concept becomes common, the true benefits of a VU cannot be harnessed.

If all universities were to freely publish their course slides, notes, quizzes, exams and other material in properly designed course websites and if the lectures could be recorded and uploaded, then it would greatly assist the cause of the VU. It would also result in greater collaboration between institutes and students resulting in free flow of information and ideas.

The IT fever has more or less subsided. It has been realized that the notions about IT were not true. Those who were yet to step into the field of IT are lucky to still have the opportunity to assess their options before making a decision. Those who had got into the fray, now wonder at the uncertainty of their future. Now we must realize that we have to become a nation that is thoroughly techno-savvy with more and more people becoming able to use information technology effectively, not at professional level but at a basic level. The more capable among them, and possessing the right aptitude, can go for professional qualification.

The ministry of science and technology should come of its delusions and, instead of focussing narrowly on IT, should give due importance to the SciTech part. (There has to be a strategic balance that prevents saturation in one particular field.) Industries, too, need to support institutes and sponsor their projects instead of relying on foreign solutions.

Success for the nation as a whole is not a single-sided affair; everyone has to play a part to develop the right kind of synergy. With a sincere and unified effort, we can still do a lot. For once, we need to realize our responsibility and work as a nation.
Courtesy: Dawn