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Diploma in Mechanical Engineering Curriculum in Tamil
Nadu (in India) and the Performance of Mechanical Technicians in Manufacturing
Industries in India - A Study
R.Raj kumar, Head of the Department, A. M. K.
Technological Polytechnic College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
Dr. E. S. M. Suresh, Assistant Professor, National
Institute Technical Training and Research, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Abstract
Due to liberalization, Industrialization and Globalization
several multinational companies have established their manufacturing units in
India especially in Tamil Nadu .This study examines the effectiveness of
present diploma curriculum of mechanical engineering discipline in Tamilnadu,
in preparing the students to face present industrial expectation. This study
makes an attempt to study the perception of industries about diploma program,
performance of technicians studied in sandwich pattern and non sandwich pattern
and promotional opportunities available to them
1. Introduction:
To quote UNESCO "Education should provide the skills for
"learning to know, learning to live together, learning to do and learning to
be". Thus, education is the primary agent of transformation towards sustainable
development and increasing people's capacities to transform their visions for
society into reality. Education not only provides scientific and technical
skills, it also provides the motivation, justification, and social support for
pursuing and applying them. It is necessary to foster through education the
values, behavior and lifestyles required for a sustainable future. Education
for sustainable development has come to be seen as a process of learning how to
make decisions that consider the long-term future of the economy, ecology and
equity of all communities. Building the capacity for such futures-oriented
thinking is a key task of education. .Education develop skills for creative and
critical thinking, oral and written communication, collaboration and
cooperation, conflict management, decision-making, problem-solving, planning
and practical citizenship. The functioning of the educational institutions, as
well as the educational choice of the youth, has remarkably been influenced by
the market economy. Quest for knowledge is no more always or the only
motivating factor for prospective learners; rather, it is the availability of
employment in the market that makes the learners choose their areas of
study.
Engineering and Technology education in developing countries
(Indian subcontinent countries) has a mismatch between knowledge, curriculum,
and skills imparted by universities and colleges and international needs. The
curriculum is not planned either to satisfy the ever growing and diverse social
needs or the industrial demands. In order to increase global competence and to
train engineering students for leadership positions in the world arena,
international education must be incorporated in the engineering curriculum.
Interactions in terms of internship programmes, specialized summer programmes
for engineering technology students must be included. Curriculum in the Indian
subcontinents is also very rigid, which does not satisfy the needs of different
categories of students. In this paper an attempt is made to find out whether
the curriculum of mechanical programme prepares the technician to the
expectation industries and Perception of manufacturing industries about
mechanical technicians.
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