Are Government University Students Inferior?

www.pakpositive.com One of the Facebook contacts recently had raised a point about Universities and the labels (stereotyping) attached with the name of institution. Students are evaluated, even without screening/interview, by the institution name attached with them.

As a HR professional I come across such discussions regularly within the circles. Prestigious schools tend to differ themselves from others and can go to extremes that an entire alumni is hired within an organization. Even though I hate stereotyping but the fact is "institution does matter."

I completed by bachelors of engineering from MUET, Jamshoro and was hired in an organization as research engineer. In this organization I worked with graduates from GIKI, NEDUET, NUST, PAF KIET and BCCIFASTT. Yes, there was lot of difference between Government institutions and private institutions. As a HR & Oper manager (in the same engineering firm) the differences are now clearer than ever to me. Below I would highlight my little learning

1. Government Universities have no wonder produced extra ordinary and bright individuals but the numbers compare to private sector may be lesser. The number of students in Government institutions is far far higher than in private universities, which makes a lot of difference. The number governs teacher's attention to each student and the facility. Within private sector some institutions (which I call "machli bazar") have insufficient space for facilitating students resulting in low standard of education. Thus Government universities tend to accommodate more students than private - we all want Government to give education to as many as possible but this hurts the quality. Unless an individual him/herself is not bold enough it is hard to ask or seek for quality. The outcome leaves a handful of bright people to rise out of Government institutions and carry forward their ambitions while others compromise by acquiring job which may not be linked to their subject/field of studies.


2. The fees charged by Government universities for a year is fraction of the amount charged by private sector for a semester. This reflects on amount spent by the institution on its infrastructure and acquiring highly paid teaching, administrative and support staff. This again questions the quality of teaching staff at Govt institutions but then again Govt has taken measures to acquire highly paid teaching staff in its major universities and many of these Govt teachers give time to private institutes in evening programs.


3. A plague that has badly harmed the image as well as proficiency of government universities is the student politics. Different political parties have opened up what I used to call an "outlaw outlet". Students are backed by the political parties resulting in fierce rivalries between the student parties at university level. These student political parties act like thugs and outlaws where police is merely an observer. In private institution there is almost none and in places where the element was seen rising the private universities came up with idea of societies which are non violent.


4. University environment tends to effect student's own representation ability in outside society. I still recall one my viva teacher just gave me marks as I was wearing a proper dress shirt and a dress pant and spoke fluent English. There are namely few Government institutions where delivering lecture in English is must for teachers. My Alma mater had teachers who attempted to speak in language of the course book but at times the concept could not be explained since some of them had language problems.


5. When I took my Masters program at a private university, things were definitely different. I had to dress, speak and deliver in a very organized way. My assignments were checked and graded. The competitive environment, even though sounded like horse race, polished several skills. The exams were not just about few questions from the course book to which one should write long answers, it had questions challenging and testing.


6. Good private university tends to spend funds on image building which in turn also attracts many organizations to conduct screening tests and interviews, something rarely seen in government university.


7. The grading structure of private institution offers competition and rules are such that student is forced to work hard. In government sector grading structure needs revision to increase competition and rules are only for those who are labelled weak.


8. There are great facilities in Govt universities, some even untouched. Only the ones who break the chain and psychological barrier can make the best in the government universities.

There are several other differences between the two but few important in my opinion are stated.

In no way I want to say that Govt university students do not have potential or are any less than students from private sector but reality checks are important. There are skills sets that government students have to acquire from their own initiative and enthusiasm, which are taken for granted by students of private universities.

As HR manager, giving fair chance to both private and government sector yields amazing results and a diverse mix. Knowledge is everywhere and an organization needs individuals who have brains and can use it.

Labelling (stereotyping) students of Govt sector as inferior is irresponsible, unfair and utter non sense.

What is the point of education, if it teaches you discrimination and bias? university students www.pakpositive.com