Whenever I’m told that Amrita School of Engineering is the “best one can get” and whatever happens over here is for the “greater good”, I’m on my guard . What I’m being taught in this college is to accept the present conditions as immutable facts of life, and to trim my aims/goals accordingly. The fact that we(students) are being ushered into a dungeon of injustice is enervating. The energy drain clubbed with the idiocies of the management adds to the irascible behaviour of the students.
Trying to prioritise the problems faced by the students,I ended up in a tussle with my alter ego. Being an advocate of logic, I could classify the problems based on their magnitude and intensity. Whatever it is, I’m quite aware of the fact that neither debating nor brooding over situations is a solution to a problem.
I presume you got a vivid picture of my mental status. Unfortunately, it is the same with every student residing on campus. Now..The student community is up against the wall with yet another problem. Millions o[censored]sers across the world have witnessed this problem:”Sorry! Page cannot be displayed”. This time it would be unfair on my part if I were to blame the Internet Service Provider. It is pretty obvious to conclude that we have NO access to the World Wide Web. It is indeed nerve-wracking. We are all well-aware of the fact that Internet has revolutionized the world and has been instrumental in the progress of millions of people .The question is Isn’t Amrita School of Engineering part of this E-world.
It is hilarious to note that our course structure is exactly the same as IIT –M(Even the course codes happen to be the same..ROFL..) The management has aped the course structure and is strictly abiding by it since its inception. Like the IIT’s ,we have plethora of quizzes, assignments,tutorials… The IIT’s provide their students with internet….Why didn’t Amrita choose the IIT as an idol in this aspect??
The pedagogues apparently used their “kidneys” (or should I say “Penis/Vagina”) and have come up with an idea to evade from delivering lectures..They call the lecture hour as a SEMINAR where the student has to deliver the lecture. How does a student understand a topic which he wasn’t taught? Are books the only banks of knowledge?? If so,how many books to refer to?? The library closes by 10.00 pm. The thing that still obfuscates me is how the hell are we supposed to seek knowledge when the doors leading to it are closed….This reminds me of a poster put up on our notice board. It reads as follows:
1.Multimedia presentation.
2. Photography.
3. Poster designing.
For posters, we need images which available only on the internet. For various Fonts, we need to access the internet. For classwork/assignments, we need google and Wikipedia. I just gave you a score of examples proving my point-Internet is part and parcel of an Engineer’s life. It’s a huge database. One of the classes were asked submit an assignment within a stipulated time. The prof. expected distinct content in the assignments(It is really not possible ‘coz a problem cannot have 60 solutions…). He also gave the students the “liberty” to use the internet. Students are usually boisterous…So you can expect clamouring at its peak. One of the studs said,” Sir, It is impossible to access the internet.We don’t have Wi-fi in our hostels.”
Prof: Okay..What’s the big deal..Go to the IT-lab and get material from there…
…………..Finally,the student was convinced to use the services in the IT LAB!
My point is:If you want distinct assignments,then everybody must go to the lab, at least make an attempt to browse through various sites and get information…If the whole class happens to go to the browsing center, the speed goes down(The download speed is too low.)..Again,this browsing lab has a timing..The lab closes by 10.30pm…..Between 6.30 -8.00 pm,they close the lab because the lab assistants go to have their food…So basically we are left with 2hrs 30 mins….How on earth is it possible to access the required information??
If the guy is clever enough,he starts browsing on his mobile..But you don’t get signal everywhere..Sometimes you ought to come out, stand in a particular location where the refresh rate of pages is fast. Now….The warden comes,snatches your mobile because it has a camera…. Your mobile is gone forever and all you are left with is pangs of fear.
We have a club called photography club. These people show-off by using Professional cameras. You can find them at every fest/event. (God knows what they snap… I presume under the pretext of photography, they practice pornography…)
The management allows them to snap photos using cameras but it doesn’t allow the students to use a mobile with camera. When a brave soul demands for a reason, the buggers give evasive and irrational replies like “ You may misuse technology..” What a stupid reason..!! What’s the difference in using a professional camera and a mobile camera????? It is more economical to buy a mobile with a good camera..Our college as always has concentrated on the micro economics and has lost out on the macro…..
I have a hunch that swamiji & CO have been drug peddlers in the past..Under the ruse of an instituition,they probably help the mafia and other small gangs in flesh trade.
The management made sure we are totally disconnected from the world..We aren’t “austere” people like them…We are here for technical education ,not to learn how to meditate or master the techniques of penance …When the whole world is converging towards cutting-edge technology, Amrita,on the other hand has adopted horse-and-buggy methods and expects progress.You cannot continue to run a space-age institution with horse-and-buggy methods. The approach to any problem by the top-level people is irrational. For example: Laptops and mobile phones were being stolen…The management got to know about it..
A week later on the hostel notice board:
It has been identified that the cause for theft is going into others rooms after 10pm. From now onwards,any student who is caught in a room that is not his shall be punished and has to pay a sum of Rs.1000/- as fine. I don’t get them again..If there is a thief in the hostel, he might as well steal things before 10 pm..It is surprising to know that the DEAN has a pea-sized brain..There is a discontinuity in the governance at the perimeter of Amrita. Outside..it is democracy whereas inside it is dictatorship. The rules have sabotaged the learning process , killed originality and begetted banality.
The school of Engineering has promised to provide it’s students with Wi-fi in the brochure. Apparently, the staff has the access to the internet..The money we have paid for our benefits and comforts is now being used to pamper the senses/desires of the faculty. An educational institution is tantamount to a noble cause. Instead the management has resorted to extracting the maximum from the parents. NRI’s have fallen into the trap. The ramifications of the internet are always highlighted and are exaggerated beyond reason to prove their point. An edifice has been designed to loot money from students.
I don’t want temporary solutions which might seem pragmatic to the pea-brains of the administration or to a group of people who have lost faith in life and are trying to debate about life and death. I don’t want to be a victim of stupid schools of thoughts.I wish to be a brave soul and confront you..But I fear your wrath. There is no dearth of talent in the students in this institution. Only the walls and time have sabotaged them. I’m talking about UTOPIAN vision, not horse-eye view(which you call as pragmatism) which can be a convenient tool to blatantly ignore the lingering injustices.
Warning:
Your parochial attitudes have irked the student fraternity beyond reason. You begetted hate and you are the reason for the irascible, rather tempestuous behaviour of the students. You haven’t struggled hard to besmirch your image in the eyes of the junta. You can definitely expect an outburst in the near future…You have committed sins for which I cannot forsee a plausible explanation.The only way to perhaps regain your identity is to walk-the-talk and for now provide Wi-fi as promised…It helps in expanding one’s horizons…