Engineering colleges in Kerala are working on improving the communication skills of their students

Updated on: Monday, August 27, 2012

Amid growing concerns over the lack of English communication skills of engineering students in Kerala, engineering colleges are working on improving their communication skills from the first semester itself.

Cochin University of science and technology registrar Dr A Ramachandran, said, "We intend to start orientation and soft skills development courses that will include effective communication in English and group discussion from the first semester. Special classes will be conducted on a regular basis till the final semester."

At present, engineering colleges conduct orientation and skill development courses for a week during the final semester, just before the campus recruitment. But that is set to change. A recent survey conducted by an employability measurement company, Aspiring Minds, revealed that four out of 10 engineers were lacking in proper English communication skills.

"Improving the communicative skills of a student is not enough, as 90% of the words they will use later are technical in nature. We are now making an effort to familiarize students with the language of the industry, as it is the 'technician's language' that will help them succeed," said vice-chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi University Rajan Gurukkal.

Explaining the problem, Bhuvna Anil Kumar, head of the department of IIT/JEE coaching at T.I.M.E., Kochi said: "Basic English communication at the school-level is fine. The problem arises when children go to engineering colleges. During the campus recruitment training, we found that the general language of communication in campuses is Malayalam."

Tandem Network's A U Prasad said: "More engineering aspirants are taking the language test at our institute. Based on the results, we work on areas that they need to improve."

In a test conducted at P C Thomas's institute in Thrissur, it was found that while students of the state board could correctly pronounce only 100 English words in a minute, CBSE students managed to pronounce 300 words. "We have asked students to study five new English words a day. This will improve their vocabulary," said Thomas, director of the institute.

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