On 25 July, Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar said in the Lok Sabha that at least three internships will be mandatory for engineering students across the country in the duration of their course during an academic year.
The internships should be in a span of four to eight weeks before the completion of his/her undergraduate course – also, it will be the responsibility of the institution to ensure the internships for the students.
“Every teacher in each of the technical disciplines shall mandatorily undergo an annual refresher course through SWAYAM portal (Massive open online course), encapsulating all advances in their field of study,” the minister said to The Indian Express.
Earlier, only reputed engineering colleges had been emphasising on the need of internships, leaving many engineers at a disadvantage due to lack of experience.
As per the data collected by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) from 10,328 technical institutes, of the 15.87 lakh students, only 6.96 lakh got jobs through campus placements in 2015-16. However, the minister claimed that the number could have been higher had the students not opted for higher studies and start-ups. Lack of requisite skills has been cited as the main reason for the low level of employability in this industry.
The minister pointed out earlier that according to the latest study by AICTE, only 40% of the engineering students are employable, which the government wanted to increase to 60%. Initiatives were also taken to bring about an overhaul in the syllabus for both engineering and B.Ed colleges.
