A few hours of part-time work in the morning, CAT coaching or whatever floats your boat, say cricket, before making it in time for the classroom. If this is what GenY wants, colleges are game for it as well. The increasing popularity of second-shift engineering colleges among students has led to many more managements opting for it. This year, as many as 12 colleges chose second-shift courses.
The success story of evening courses in many colleges have now inspired other engineering colleges to follow suit. Last year, the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) had batted for the idea of a regular evening batch in engineering colleges. Around eight colleges in the state had ventured to conduct a second batch after the normal working hours. After an overwhelming response, more managements are willing to take it up now. Some of the most sought-after colleges like Reva Institute of Technology, M S Ramaiah Institute of Technology and R V College of Engineering (RVCE) have chosen second-shift courses.
This is despite having 180 colleges and 41,341 seats out of which 8,067 seats remained vacant. Managements argue that students will take up the course even if it's an evening shift if respected colleges are offering it.
"There's always a demand when the quality is met. Our college primarily has a good reputation. When the programmes that are in demand are offered, seats will be filled. During the counselling, when seats of the morning shift gets over, the students who are keen on getting into the best colleges can get into the evening shift," said K Rajnikanth of MSRIT.
For the managements, it's the best way to put their infrastructure to maximum use. "Except for the additional staff, we have already made infrasructure. Going by the experience of a few colleges, we thought we will offer the cream courses," said Rana Pratap Reddy, principal, Reva Institute of Technology.
And, it's not just about getting the best. It's also about the increasing number of students who want to make the best use of their available time.
Like Nitesh D R, a first year mechanical student in New Horizon College of Engineering, who works part-time at Hyundai. "My branch of engineering needs practical knowledge. I thought it was best to get both hand-in-hand. So I joined the service branch. From 9am to 12.30pm, I work. At 1pm, my classes start and at 7pm, I am back home," he said.
