The rat race to secure a decent rank in competitive exams for admissions into professional engineering courses, has changed the way education is imparted to children in our State. With so much stress on ‘entrance-exam-centric’ education, children from villages in the State, with little access to good training facilities, are invariably being left out.
Fallout to the exam centric education, being promulgated by myriad coaching centers, is that young children, with malleable minds capable of absorbing new ideas, are being robbed off from structured broad based education that includes basic skills of communication, teamwork and leadership skills.
In an attempt to addresso these issues and to provide equal opportunities to meritorious students in villages, the State Government set up Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies (RGUKT) in 2008. Under RGUKT, the Government decided to start three Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIITs). The IIITs, with spanking classrooms and hostel facilities in huge campuses, have come up at Basara in Telangana, Nuzvid in Coastal Andhra and one at Kadapa.
The aim is to catch them young and prepare them for the arduous journey ahead in their lives. The concept behind APIIIT is that students, between the age of 15 and 16 years, have impressionable minds and can properly absorb a structured broad based education system that will chisel them into finished products, by the time they depart the hallowed portals of IIITs.
These institutes have a mandate to specialise in teaching and research in Information Technology and other emerging disciplines under the control of a common University Governing Council and a common syllabus. Students would have to study for six years (Integrated six-year educational programme) of which two years (Pre-University course) would be equivalent to first and second Intermediate while the four remaining years would be a specialisation in Information Technology. To protect the future of students from the fluctuating fortunes of Information Technology, the curriculum is designed in such a way that students can also get parallel degree in evergreen engineering courses like civil and mechanical engineering.
With experts feeling that intermediate students are only concentrating on Maths, Biology, Physics and Chemistry, the two-year intermediate course in APIIIT, dubbed as pre-University course with six semesters, would also have one-day and one-week courses in humanities and social sciences. This is to help students emerge confidant, energetic, enthusiastic youngsters seeking challenges in their University education and life in general. If students want to explore other professional courses, then they can exit APIIIT only after the Pre-University.
Apart from courses in social sciences, students are also being exposed to soft skills like English speaking, writing, listening, comprehension, communication, teamwork and effective meeting skills. Each student during the pre-university course spends at least two hours in a day fine tuning his or her soft skills.
Given the village background of students, RGUKT authorities had decided to do away with any kind of entrance test. Apart from that, a special programme has been prepared to provide scope for remedial education for needy students and also a foundation course in Information Technology, to enable students to be able to handle the rigours of undergraduate programme.
The proposed B. Tech programme is envisaged on a new model of liberal professional education to create future leaders who have a broad understanding of the world. The aim is to prepare an engineer who is adept both in practical knowledge and theory. The specialised curriculum aims at churning out confident problem solvers compared to the overspecialised engineers who are good in theoretical applications. According to RGUKT, the four-year course would prepare students to cope with the demands of the work place and society as he or she navigates through life. The RGUKT authorities proudly point out that curriculum would stress learning-to-learn and life-long-learning.
Four years down the line, when the first batch of the APIIIT graduates pass out, RGUKT authorities project that the employment prospects would be comparable to other world class universities in India. It is also being anticipated that the broad-based education including soft skills would provide a strong foundation for students to compete in national level examinations. RGUKT authorities also assure of taking up appropriate placement guidance and awareness programmes to prepare students for private and public sector opportunities. Students can learn entrepreneurship and other skills that can help them to take up independent companies.
General information about APIIITs
Application and counselling Procedure
Applicants can be obtained from the office of the local Mandal Educational Officer (MEO) or RGUKT main office in Hyderabad at Masab Tank, IIIT at Basara, Nuzvid and Kadapa. The filled-in applications have to be submitted at the office of the MEO or RGUKT main office in Hyderabad or even at the IIITs at Nuzvid, Basara and Kadapa. The application forms are collected by the university from the MEO and details of all the applicants are fed into the university database and selection is made on the basis of admission procedure. The selected candidates are informed about their selection through letters addressed to them at the postal address provided by them in the application form. Apart from that, names of the selected list of students are generally displayed at all MEO offices across the State.
Admissions:
Admission into APIIIT is strictly based on the performance of students in the SSC and other equivalent board examinations like CBSE, ICSE, Oriental SSC and NOS. The filling and submission of applications are generally taken online.
Submission dates:
The usual date for submission of application forms is April of every year and seats in APIIITs are allotted based on the availability at each centre. Each APIIIT would have a strength of 2,000 students which means the three APIIITs in the State have 6,000 students on its rolls. Presently, this is the second year of APIIIT in Andhra Pradesh and there are a whopping 12,000 students from various villages admitted to APIIIT in Andhra Pradesh.
Reservation:
A majority of seats are reserved for SC, ST and BC students. The reservations are as follows: SC-15%, ST-6%, BC-A - 7%, BC-B -10%, BC-C - 1%, BC-D - 7%, BC-E - 4%. Reservation for Physically Handicapped and Armed Forces Personnel would be 3% and 2% respectively of 6000 as horizontal reservation. Usually seats are allotted based on categories like population in the district, state-wide merit, rural seats and reservation, school category and marks. APIIIT authorities make it amply clear that there is no guarantee that a person with a good score would be short listed. The selected candidate usually receives a letter notifying about admission.
Duration and course content:
The APIIT programme consists of a six-year integrated curriculum after Class X examination leading to a dual degree in IT and a domain specialisation. Presently, Class 11 and 12 have been narrowed into specialised tracks like Mathematics, Physics, Life Sciences and Chemistry. Thus all other subjects like History, Civics, Arts, Culture and Literature have been left behind. However, in APIIIT, the subjects that had been removed have made a comeback and students would be taught these subjects.
The engineering subjects include specialised topics such as Construction Engineering and professional subjects include specialised topics in Law, Medical Sciences, Agriculture, and Business. Other specialisations would include special topics in Mathematics, Statistics, Economics and Social Sciences.
v To impart to each student broad skills to learn-to-learn, learn-to-think and learn-to-live.
v To reinforce core values of integrity, respect for all and care for environment.
v To disseminate and advance knowledge in the emerging fields such as Information Technology, Biotechnology etc.
v To make special provisions for integrated development in humanities, social sciences and inter-disciplinary areas to impart broad-based education including soft skills.
v To function as a resource center for knowledge management and entrepreneurship development in the emerging technologies.
v To establish linkages with the industry to make teaching and research at the institutes relevant to the needs of the economy.
INTERVIEW OF THE MONTH:
The Career Guide met the Registrar of Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies Professor S Satyanarayana to learn about the past, present and future of APIIITs in the State.
TCG: How will APIIITs make difference to the lives of rural youth?
Registrar: Imagine a classroom of 50 students, all drawn from village background, taking lessons literally without a blackboard. The mode of communication and teaching is purely audio-visual and each student would have personal laptop and ear phones attached to the desk. Don’t you think this is a world class facility and a unique way of imparting education to rural youth? These institutes would provide the much needed exposure to all kinds of information to the rural youth which would boost their confidence levels. We are confident that APIIIT graduates would be able to compete with any other graduate from other top universities in the country. The six-year course would bring about a positive change in the lives of scores of meritorious students, who are missing out on good education because of lack of opportunities.
TCG: Tell us about the curriculum being implemented in the APIIITs?
Registrar: The faculty members and research scholars of IIIT, Gachibowli, after hours and hours of brain storming sessions, have chalked out a fool-proof curriculum by developing audio-visual content for APIIITs. Because of the rural background of the students, a foundation course in IT would be given. This would help students to make full use of the Information Technology and Communication resources like the audio-visual classes. Short-term courses in humanities and social sciences are also being lined-up to achieve holistic development of the child. Without doubt, the curriculum of APIIIT is unique and we can boast that nowhere else in the country, such a concept is under implementation.
TCG: How is the State Government planning to make admission to APIIIT an easy and transparent affair?
Registrar: We are preparing a huge database of meritorious students from the districts to make the admission process easy. We are seeking the help of District Education Officers (DEOs) to prepare a master database and it would be soon hosted in our website. This would go a long way in bringing a semblance of transparency into the selection process. This method would also help in finding any kind of discrepancies in the merit list. A special grievance cell is also being planned to clarify doubts of students and parents. Students can also lodge their grievances at the local APIIIT branches in Nuzvid, Basara and Kadapa.
TCG: Tell us about the typical day of students in residential campus:
Registrar: The programme for students is pretty intensive and exhaustive. Hence students have to spend a lot of time on the campus. A lot of effort has gone into making sure that the students have a quality life during their stay in the hostels on the campus. Students have to attend physical training and exercise each morning and participate in sports in the evening. The academic programme consists of four periods of less than two hours duration from 8 am to 4 pm with a lunch break. The quality of food is at par with any other world class facility in the country. It can be equated to the quality of food in a three-star hotel. Separate boarding and lodging facilities are provided to girls and boys. After dinner, students would learn soft skills, watch selected movies and even read classics till 10.30 pm.
TCG: How is the faculty?
Registrar: At the moment, we have dedicated team of mentors in IT, English and other subjects to take care of every possible need of the student. The IIIT, Gachibowli faculty is world class and APIIIT student gain by interacting with them. The teaching is very different because it is more audio-visual driven and students will have enough time to learn, ask or clarify their doubts and solve the problems in the classroom itself. We are trying not to give any kind of homework to the students. Everything has to be finished within the classroom itself. Each student will be given a laptop, right from the first year, which is a huge motivation factor for students.
TCG: Please tell us about the fee structure and how much the students have to spend?
Registrar: The very concept of APIIIT is to make sure that students from villages get world class education at a very little cost. At present, we have only two batches and Rs. 36,000 is being charged towards fee for pre-university students. But, 95% of our students are getting their fee refunded through the Government reimbursement schemes. Students need not bother about anything because food, clothing, shoes, hotel facility, beds and other needs are provided free of cost to them.
TCG: How is the funding support from the government to APIIIT?
Registrar: The State Government is highly committed for the development and maintenance of RJUKT IIITs into world class centres of education. For this year alone, the authorities have set aside funds to the tune of Rs. 600 crore for smooth functioning of the facilities. There are 12,000 students in the three IIITs in the State and Government is taking the responsibility to provide all necessary facilities for quality education and living. There are 40 classrooms with each class having about 50 students and the Government spending to maintain the huge infrastructure that includes hostel facilities, classrooms, buildings, mess and other facilities is huge.
TCG: What is the girl - boy ratio and how are the seats distributed?
Registrar: At present, girls are 45% of the total student population in APIIITs. We have quickly realised that girls are top performers in districts and efforts are on to augment their numbers too. We are trying to encourage parents of meritorious girl students who hesitate to send their wards to the APIIITs.
The total intake of students from the State is 6,000, with each IIIT admitting about 2,000 students every year. Of the 6,000 seats, 900 seats are up for grabs for all the students attending schools in the State and the rest 5,100 seats are allotted to students attending schools in rural mandals. The seats are strictly based on merit in the mandal. Roughly, 70% of the total APIIT seats go to Government schools, 20% to private schools and the rest to residential schools. We are also providing an opportunity to international students, including students attending schools in other states. Admission would be on the basis of their marks and a minimum of 80% marks for international applicants is a requirement.