Does the math add up?

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Does the math add up?

Sunday, 21 March 2021 | MUSBA HASHMI

Does the math add up?

AICTE’s proposal to drop Maths and Physics from the list of mandatory subjects to seek admission in engineering courses has stirred up disbelief, controversy and memes. MUSBA HASHMI speaks with experts to analyse the fallout and feasibility  of this pathbreaking recommendation

Soon after the All India Council for Technical Education’s (AICTE) decision of tweaking the guidelines for engineering entrance examinations and removing Maths and Physics as mandatory subjects, the Internet got flooded with memes that left people in splits.

A tweet read: #AICTE: Maths and Physics not mandatory for Engineering. Pakistani Cricket Fan: Ek dum se waqt badal diye, jazbaat badal diye, zindagi badal di. Another read: Engineering students to AICTE: Aapne to humse humara dimension hi cheen liya (with a picture of Priyanka Chopra from Bajirao Mastani).

Here is some more, but only comedian Akash Gupta’s fans will get this. Maths and Physics not must for Engineering, says AICTE. Meanwhile those Numerical of Engineering. (On a pic of Akash Gupta) Excuse me, brother... brother, eedhar.

While all this is on a lighter vein, the decision is a serious topic of debate which has left academic experts divided. Some say it is a welcome move, while others say that the decision will change the essence of engineering.

“AICTE’s decision to remove Maths and Physics is certainly a decision not taken in the spirit of engineering. The reason being, it will adversely affect the research and development activities in various fields of engineering, especially Aeronautics, Automotive, and Computer. Evidently, engineers with unsubstantial knowledge about the fundamentals of Physics and Mathematics will constantly face challenges while measuring the problems precisely and developing cutting-edge solutions. Interpretation and analytical skills which are known as the core strengths of any successful engineer cannot be honed to perfection without mastering oneself in Maths and Physics,”  Nitin Vijay, MD — Motion Education Pvt Ltd,  VP — Byju’s JEE NEET Division says.

He adds that otherwise, budding engineers will always lack certain qualities that are quintessential in shaping a calculative mindset. “Maths and Physics are not just very important subjects of Science, but their knowledge also enables a student to observe and contemplate the surroundings rather scientifically and logically. When one understands the things and the processes that govern them, then only one can identify the problems and find solutions for them. Thence, Maths and Physics of secondary school level should be reincorporated to produce quality engineers in the future,” he says.

Not that this move will encourage students from diverse fields to take up engineering or make the admission process to top colleges easy.

“There are a good number of engineering colleges already existing in India where a lot of seats remain vacant every session. Entry to the top colleges is not going to be easier even after these changes to maintain their reputation; they will never compromise to strict selection procedures. A good score in Physics and Maths will always be a deciding factor for admission to the top engineering colleges of India. Those who have completed the engineering programmes from top institutes or about to complete them can better understand the importance of Physics and Maths in the curriculum. In fact, these two subjects help form the structure of all types of engineering and they cannot be separated. Just removing these subjects is not going to push people with intentions to pursue something else or drop their idea and run behind engineering. A slight increase might happen, but anyway that’s already happening with every year, seeing an increase in the total number of students appearing for JEE and NEET,” Vijay opines.

Dr Meenakshi M, Head of Mathematics, CMR Institute of Technology Bangalore, says that this is not a good move and the basic Sciences should stay mandatory for Class XII.

“In fact, the AICTE should think of reconsidering the decision since this doesn’t seems to benefit students,” she adds.

Dr KH Raveesha, Head of Basic Science and Humanities, CMR Institute of Technology Bangalore, agrees with  his colleague Meenakshi and says that the new decision can prove to be detrimental to engineering students who are willing to become innovators. Students need to have good hold on both the subjects, it is a must. “The decision seems to be benefitting the private universities which want to make admissions with other subjects like Biotechnology. Here these universities are given an option to offer a bridge course for about three months for students from non-engineering backgrounds. These bridge courses don’t hold any credits and will not be in any way equivalent to the PCM knowledge that a Science stream students otherwise would have. Without any credits, students will not be interested in learning all these things and will end up missing the two years of rigorous Maths and Phyisics training which otherwise they would have got. If this happens, who will come up with digital innovations, who will make the next generation rockets which have less weight with more power and who will make driver-less cars? Not to mention, who will give them critical thinking and problem solving skills that come with handling these subjects,” Raveesha, who has been into the profession for 25 years, asks.

What would have helped, he says, is a one-year mandatory bridge course with full credits for students from non-engineering backgrounds. This way the students can seriously learn the skills of these subjects and  continue do innovations.

“This vague decision is given by the AICTE to just increase the number of engineers in the country. I doubt if they have even evaluated the number of engineering jobs in the country and whether have thought of increasing them. If they don’t think of re-considering their decision, 10 years down the line someone will question this decision and realise that it didn’t produce good quality engineers,” he says.

Such decisions, he says, should only be made by taking into consideration teachers, stakeholders and serious students who are enthusiastic of making a career into these fields.

Ravi Kaushik an IITB alumnus, and CEO AiRTH, who has been a close witness of the importance that Maths and Physics holds in the life of an engineer says that the recent tweaks are more hollow than helpful. “Although the regulatory body mentioned certain specific courses such as textile, agriculture engineering, and biotechnology only, they have certainly overlooked the prerequisites of engineering. The government intends to include students from diverse backgrounds which is great but I can very well imagine the struggle they will have to face,” Kaushik says.

Kaushik supports his views by giving an example. “Picture this. A biotechnology student is working on a drug for a certain disease. He/she has to do a lot of experiments followed by compilation and analysis. The analysis of that data needs a clear understanding of the fundamentals of mathematics. This comprises mostly what the students study in senior high school. Hence, it is impossible to disintegrate such crucial subjects from the rest of the course or call it non-compulsory. Instead, to make our education system more inclusive and productive, the Government can focus on arranging additional lectures on Mathematics or Physics for such students,” he says.

While teachers and students believe that this is a decision without logic, some stakeholders are in favour of the announcement and see it as a welcome change. “With the AICTE announcement of making Math & Physics not mandatory for some technical courses like Textile, Biotechnology, Agriculture engineering etc, this move will  help the Textile and the Biotechnology sector as these courses had several vacant seats every year. There are thousands of jobs in the Textile sector, but there is a lack of workforce due to the unavailability of undergraduates in some specific sectors. This move will give opportunities to students from diverse fields to opt for an engineering degree. This, in return, will contribute to Nation building,” Abhishek Gupta, CEO and Co-founder, Hex N Bit, opines.

In addition, statistics say in the year 2,000 there were around 7,000 foreign students pursuing various courses in India which have crossed to 50,000 just before pandemic so with the ease declared by AICTE there will be an opportunity for foreign students to opt various courses in India and that will internally going to impact GDP in a positive way.

The education system, therefore, needs to incorporate something that exposes the young minds to the realities of the technicalities in the existing world. That should make them more responsible, mature, good decision-makers, and highly focused. These things certainly happen, but at a later stage in the learning process.

“Facilitation and fostering of entrepreneurial learning at schools can be a big game-changer. And this introduction should happen at an early stage. Entrepreneurship teaches many things, like being practical in thought and approach, being efficient in managing time, money and relations, being good in problem identification and finding the right solution and many more practical skills. Entrepreneurial skills must be infused in the young generation that eventually paves the leadership path for them. By giving the young people an entrepreneurial mindset right from the start, we can certainly have more dynamic leaders emerging in the future,” Vijay says.

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