Metroman E Sreedharan has claimed that Kerala produces 'low standard engineers' due to the poor quality of technical education in the state.
The veteran engineer, who oversaw the construction of the Konkan Railways and the Delhi Metro, called the 'state of affairs' in Kerala's engineering sector 'disappointing'.
“There are more than 150 engineering colleges here. Even if one gets 10 marks in mathematics they can still get admission in engineering colleges, so you can very well imagine,” Sreedharan said during a lecture at CONFEST 2023 here on Saturday.
“Engineering is basically Physics and Mathematics, and one must be highly proficient in these two areas, but it is not happening. The level of engineering education is so low in Kerala.”
Sreedharan has claimed that the first Vice-Chancellor of Kerala's technical university (the APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University) resigned midway because he was not allowed to improve the standard of education by changing the type of examinations conducted in the state.
“I went to the court with a PIL saying that the standard of education in Kerala is so poor and the government is not allowing the vice chancellor to improve the standard. Something has to be done. Do you know what the government did? They gave a submission to the court that we are aware of it and within one year we will see that the whole thing is improved. Nothing has happened.”
Engineers can't speak English
Sreedharan said the 'low standard of engineers' was not the only problem in Kerala. “Many of our engineers can't even speak English well. Whenever I go to engineering colleges to deliver lectures, one thing I always insist on is that you must learn English. Good communication skills are missing here,” Sreedharan said.
30-40% bribes
Sreedharan also said there was a high level of corruption in the engineering field. According to him, contractors have to shell out a large sum on bribes even at the municipality and panchayat levels. “30-40% of the contract amount, he has to set aside for bribing people and then he is not able to do the balance work.”
