If You Wish to Change

There is much of ‘WE’ everywhere. Steadily, the people around are forgetting that even in WE, ‘I’ plays a prominent role. Without ‘I’, the meaning and significance of the word WE completely change.

Ankur is a student of management studies, who had completed his B. Tech (CS). He is an average student, belonging to a middle-class family; his reason behind pursuing higher studies was to get placed in a well-established organization, which he had said in the very first day of joining the institute in front of all his batch mates, as stated very proudly by him.

In due course of time, he created a group of the students who were either having the similar attitude like him or were forced to approach higher studies so that they can secure their future by getting placed in good organizations. The group members always dream big. Ankur, being the leader is their motivator, and they blindly follow him.

He has the habit of chewing tobacco. He thinks, being a matured person, he knows what he should do and should not when asked by others to quit chewing. Well, according to him, he does what he likes.

The year passes by; he hardly shows any interest towards the development of his skills. With the kind of knowledge that he has, he may find it difficult to compete with his fellow students. He knew this fact but was busy in the blame game and never paid attention to his sessions or curriculum.

In the final year, he had attempted 42 interviews and was rejected all the time. The interviewers in their feedback advised him to improve his communication skills, negotiation skills and knowledge skills.

Ultimately, he met me in December 2017 while I was travelling from Patna to Hyderabad. While interacting with him, I realized that he seldom analyzed his conversation. In the complete journey of 39 hours, he was fully occupied with negative thoughts and believed in reducing the stress by blaming others. He started by blaming the people of Bihar, then he blamed his friends who had ruined his career by spending time in all sort of worthless activities, ultimately blamed God for giving him birth in a middle-class family.

At Hyderabad, he was called to appear for an interview process at one of the IT Solution companies. I realized that Ankur needs someone like me who can guide him correctly. I said to him without condemning his thoughts that what he said was right, everything around us is not certainly the best but one thing that surprised me was his honesty. He admitted and accepted his failure and knows his loopholes. At the same time, it was painful to know that he never paid any attention towards the development of his skills.

Well, I told him to send three hours with me, if he wishes to prepare and then go ahead to appear for the interview. Initially, he pretended that he has prepared himself and may not require any assistance of mine but I don’t know what stuck him, he agreed.

In my second meeting, few tips of the interview were shared with him. I focused on his preparation towards the kind of job he has applied for, the need of the organization, his concepts related to IT and its marketing, basic questions that are generally asked in the interview. Well, it took me six hours to just guide him and to put correct elevator’s pitch in my mouth.

I advised him to believe in self. I took time to tell him that in the complete story of the blame game, the real culprit is he, not the friends, not the society, not the family or God. I told him to judge and find out what are his real strengths and do work on weaknesses. On listening to my words, he said that he was asked to do these during his graduation as well as post-graduation. I admitted and said that the things told to him was not new.

What is driving the youth like him on the wrong track is their lack of interest in self-assessment and self-improvement. They can spend hours in blaming but can’t take an hour time to count their own areas of development.

I don’t know the result of Ankur’s interview. Nor I do have any contact number. But one thing I am very sure of is students like Ankur after reading this post will realize that they will get nothing by not doing things aptly at the right time. They will have to repent later which can be more painful in their future.

Students or aspirants, who wish to join good organizations, remember:

1.     Do work on communication skills

2.     Get rid of the habit of procrastination

3.     Believe in self and stop blame game

4.     Time that passes never returns

5.     Set your goal and be focused

Career Advisors like me are many in the number who are always willing to help students like Ankur but how many of the students adhere to what is advised and wish to bring positive change.

Yes, I am Daughter

Yes, I am daughter

I am like water

Ready to accept all change

Bearing pain of any range

To care is my nature

To share in my future

Burden is part of my life

As a daughter or a wife

I am asked to learn

When denied, even some burn

Yet, I love the family as whole

This is the goal of my soul

Torture or nurture

These are the part of creature

Yet, I appreciate and love to be a daughter

I proudly say I am like water.

To Motivate is Very Difficult

In the last 30 days, I have interacted with the students of at least 38 private coaching centers and institutes. Maximum students were those who were enrolled in government colleges and schools. Many had been to their college or school only once or for few days.

I wanted to know the reasons of these students, who do not attend the classes regularly. How do they cope up with their subjects, understand the various concepts? I really doubt their ability to learn.

But, all my doubts got cleared, when I interacted with the students of the different coaching classes, institutes that hold classes for competitive exams and so on.

Students believed that their teachers and faculty members do not take the proper interest in teaching or taking classes. They are often engaged in those activities which are not concerned with the development of the students.

Anita of Class XII reported that she has never been to her school. Because of the coaching centers, she was able to appear her papers confidently and could pass the examination with flying colors. Well, when I inquired the amount that she is paying at the coaching center, she proudly said that it was very less, only 500 INR per month for the complete five subjects.

In her coaching center, there are over 30 girls from the same college, and the total strength of a batch is not less than 60 students. The concerned teacher uses a mike to be audible to the students and keep explaining the lessons.

On asking, why she has never been to her college?

She just smiled and said, “There are no students who come to attend the classes. Hence, there is no point in going to the school.”

When I asked her, who pays her coaching fees?

She replied, her father.

Well, I was in complete shock. On the name of the girl child, the government pays such a huge amount. They are given books, bicycle, mid-day meals and what not. But, when these students do not go to school or the college every day, what should be the way to introspect the roles and responsibilities of the teachers, schools and the colleges?

Who is responsible for such level of education?

When I asked Mr. Mohan Prakash, a mathematics teacher of an institute, he said that he can take 8 classes on a day. In each class, there is a strength of 80 – 100 students. He keeps teaching and is pretty happy with his performance.

On asking, have the students failed in any of the exams, he said it depends on the center of examination and how strict are the invigilators. According to him, the invigilator should consider the students as their own kith and kin and should be lenient enough. They should understand the problem of the students, the background and other areas of problem.

I asked, do they analyze the background of the students, he said, “My family depends on my earning. If I start the charity, then my children will have to beg on the street. But, I do charge the nominal fee from the students so that they can pay the fees.”

On hearing his answer, I thought, why the parents are so insensible. Do they really have any affection towards their children? If they might have any consideration, they should have at least approached the school or the college. They should have inquired as to why the students are not attending the school or the college regularly.

I believe, there are so many dots that are not well-connected and due to awareness, the schools and colleges are unnecessarily blamed.

Yes, the administration and the management members of the school, as well as the colleges, should think of motivating students to attend the classes regularly. If attendance is regularly maintained as per the ordinance of the board or the university, which has made it as the prime criterion to appear for the examination, for sure the things will transform drastically.

There is lack of concern, among the members of the institute, family and the students. It may be tough to motivate unless the stakeholders realize the real benefit of such resilience.

Protocols are to be made for the betterment of the education system so that the monetary support that the government is providing to the students, duly reaches them and the entitled users should know that these benefits, when availed by them, will turn them as a liable citizen who needs to redeem the benefits and in turn help society to progress.

I’m not against the coaching centers, nor of any other institution. My only request is with the sensible youth and the citizen of this beautiful nation to create awareness and let the right beneficiaries avail the benefit so that as nation we grow and proceed towards development with empowered educated YOUTH  

x

Break the Barriers and Attain your Goal

Every student wishes to obtain a better education so that they can break the dependency and build their career to lead an enriched life. Most of the time, when we talk about the students of the government college, there we find a huge gap between the level of personality development when compared with the students of private educational institutions. Reasons could be many:

1. The medium to a great extent acts as a barrier to the development. After the intermediate course, which is often studied in Hindi medium by the maximum girls in Bihar, they find it difficult to opt for vocational courses, which is taught and studied in English medium.

2. The cost of education creates an obstacle when a girl child wishes to proceed with higher education. Parents do have to give the second thought before getting their child admitted in well-reputed institutions.

3. There is lack of awareness among the common people about the facilities provided by the government, particularly for the purpose of education.

At RPM College, Patna city, while interacting with the students, tried to generate interest among the students so that they can work over their areas of development.

The audience, whom I was addressing, were the students of the intermediate final year. They were appearing for their pre-board examination. Every year, in the month of May, June or July, when the results are disclosed, along with this we do hear about the scandals, malpractices and illegal means applied by the students in some states of India. Who should be blamed for this?

a.      Government

b.     School or College authorities

c.      Students

d.     Parents

On seeing the kind of examination going on at RPM College, one can certainly prove that all the above stated are to be blamed. Government passes the ordinance but hardly there is a counter check to see or analyze whether the ordinance is duly practiced at the institutes or colleges or not? Schools and Colleges they receive the rules and they do understand that the role of any educational place is very significant. They nurture the knowledge skills which in turn boosts the confidence of the students. When they fail to exhibit or stand by the protocols issued by the government, it is the mere failure of the authorities of the school or college. Students do blame for every minute thing. But when it is the time to study hard and do gain knowledge for better career perspective, they are seen stepping back. They believe, by using some petty means or illegal sources they can easily get through the examination and score better marks.

But by just gaining the marks, why don’t the students understand that they are ultimately ruining their own career path. Even if they continue and apply for higher studies, lack of knowledge will create a hurdle. They may find it difficult to study further and could be one of the reasons for their dropout.

Parents who get their children admitted in the government colleges, hardly pays any heed, whether their child attends the college on regular basis, details of the classes and about their studies. I believe, if parents become active, for sure, the students will be under positive pressure and they can excel in studies, even if their education is going on in the government institutes or colleges.

When inquired about the facility which a student can avail by applying for Student Credit Card, students believed that it is very difficult to get any financial aid from the government which in fact is a myth these days. Informing the students, I urged the students to break the barriers and get rid of wrong notions. They must work on their communication skills, practice every day and develop the knowledge skills. Know about the facilities that they can avail from the government so that a child should no longer remain a burden upon the shoulder of their parents, rather they can stand on their feet and prove to be the pride of the family. 

It's Not Trending

In the era of digitalization and when everything is moving so fast, being a citizen in tier-III city of Bihar, I hardly find anything that is trending for the development of the citizen of Bihar.

Bihar has Malls, Huge buildings, great infrastructure, and society which are waiting to embrace the change. You can find all these but the most crucial thing that helps in developing the lifestyle of the society is corporate culture. This is missing.

We do have investors who are investing in real estate, into huge projects which are growing leaps and bounds in other states than in Bihar.

Why is the government of Bihar so adamant to get Bihar under the category of Special state? Why is it not thinking of converting the state Bihar as a Smart State?

I may not be the right person to comment on the policies drafted and implemented by the state government, but as the citizen of Bihar, I feel my state is not trending. There is a tendency in the youth to move out of the state in search of jobs. The one who is living is struggling to get placed only in government job keeping in consideration growth and security.

In India, in many states, the private companies, as well as the MNC's, are providing numerous opportunities to its citizen, here is a state where there is hardly any reach of private players. We hardly have any MNC.

The condition of different states like Telangana, Uttarakhand wasn't better two-three decades ago but when we see the current situation, these states have attracted not only the national investors but also there are many international companies that are investing in these states making them rich in employment and a wonderful place for living.

We need a 360-degree change in the outlook and the way we present our state to the nation. Bihar is not trending due to two major reasons:

1.    The government which is insensitive towards many major issues

2.    The citizen, in particular, the well-educated youth which hardly demands its basic right of employment in its own domicile.

The stern action is to be taken by the corporate players and should think of considering Bihar state as the right option for setting up their branch. I wish this could happen.

Who is responsible?

We, the Indians present India as the Incredible country. In fact, it is incredible for many reasons. To make it incredible, every state and union territory plays a crucial role. The varied culture, art, artifacts, monuments, folklore and the unsung stories in the bosom of history make it truly adventurous and attractive to millions of tourist who visit India every year.

I belong to Bihar, the state which is known the great historians, philosophers, personalities and education. Being a teacher when I compare the present system of education in Bihar with its stupendous and glorified past, I feel, with the passage of time, the glory of Bihar got blurred. Right from the schools to the higher educational institutes, every single person involved in this education system is thinking about the making profits. No doubt that education is emerging as an industry and it is one of the profit making industries. 

The problem is not with the process of money making, the real problem is the way the knowledge is imparted to the students. From 20 February 2017 to 29 March 2017, I interacted with at least 1000 plus students of one of the well-established engineering colleges in Bihar. The students who have appeared for their end-term examination seemed to be confused. They hardly looked confident and were seemed to be unprepared. But these students who are tech savvy and keep good know-how of latest technologies, have used it in different ways. 

Mobile watch phone which is hardly known to general public acted as a savior. Micro photocopy of the documents saved the life of the students who have made up their mindset to pass the examination by cheating and using unfair means. On questioning the students, they had one simple answer, the things that are taught in the class differs totally from what is asked in the examination.

As a teacher, I disagree with the statement given by the students. On one hand, they were prepared with illegal resources in the examination hall to attempt the asked questions and contrary to this they say that their teachers are at fault.

With the youth of this incredible nation, I can only plea and wish that they need to understand the significance of knowledge skills. How important these skills are in building and developing the career. They need to work hard in obtaining knowledge which can shun the ignorance and can help them in gaining valuable information. 

Why these students who are pretty matured by age fail to understand the importance of education in life?

Only with true knowledge skills, one can become confident, can improve other skills which can create employable skills. 

RIP Examination Process

I still get goose bears when I think of examination and the process that used to happen related to the examination. The strict invigilation did by the invigilators forced us to prepare well.

2017, February at Patna got an opportunity to conduct university exam in one of the colleges. The students were from B.Tech stream of the seventh and fifth semester. They walked with confidence and entered the examination hall to give their exams.

I recalled my days. The pin drop silence that we used to maintain. Murmurs were not allowed. We were not allowed to do any kind of communication with any other fellow mates in the examination hall. The invigilator was considered as the lord of the day.

These days, the moment the question paper is distributed, instead of murmurs, you care sure to hear the buzz. As the strict invigilator, when you stop the examinee from turning back, talking or doing any unfair things, you are considered as inhumane. They wish you to empathize with them.

I thought and realized that I was actually empathizing with the examinees. I wanted them to understand the significance of the process of examination and how this can affect their future. Being a career adviser, I certainly believe that the grades and scores do have lots of value. Even when you appear for any interview process, the very first criteria of good companies is to shortlist the candidates with good scores and grades. But are they not trying to cheat the organization?

The grades and scores are not the true reflections of what they know and what they actually deserve. They are indirectly ruining their career. Some may not agree with what I have stated but in the long run, these things will surely leave a strong imprint on your knowledge skills.

Due to lack of proper examination process, there is one more problem which is generally faced by those candidates who seriously work hard day and night and put their best foot front to achieve success and build their career. They are usually compared with other students. The one who have used illegal means or any unfair means during the examination, their score as well as the scores of the student who had given the examination honestly are compared on the same platform. It may happen that the one who had used unfair means might have scored better than the deserving and sincere candidate. Whom should we blame in such situation?

Well, I believe the process of examination should get revised. Or if we follow the same old pattern then, let us think of the concrete ideas through which the unfair means can get stopped.

I request the readers to read this article and share their opinion and suggestions for the betterment of our future employees.