The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Don't look at marks in school, recruiters urged

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Sep 27, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Don't look at marks in school, recruiters urged

Special Correspondent

Educationist says this shuts out rural students from jobs

CHENNAI: Recruiters, especially in the software industry, should look at fresh candidates' scores in engineering college, rather than their record from school, the president of the consortium of professional, arts and science colleges in Tamil Nadu, Jeppiaar said here on Monday.

Addressing a meeting at Jeppiaar engineering college, he said companies while selecting `freshers' wanted only candidates with 60 per cent in Class X and XII, besides high scores in the first six semesters in engineering colleges. "This shuts out rural students, especially from the most backward and SC/ST categories. They do not get high marks in school because of poverty, or because their village does not have the educational infrastructure... ", he said.

Recruiters should look only at the students' performance in B.E/B.Tech, "so that we are fair to students from the weaker and backward sections. Judge them on their B.E/B.Tech marks and aptitude test, so that they do not feel left out of the race," he said.

His speech and similar queries raised by a few students at recent The Hindu Opportunities Fair, has sparked a debate on modes of recruitment.

A spokesman for Cognizant Technology Solutions, who was confronted with the question at the Fair, said software companies had clients who wanted consistency in delivery of products, in other words, they required consistent professionals who deliver minimum failure products and systems.

A.K. Pattabiraman, who for years was involved in placement at IIT-Madras, says a person with consistent marks from standard X is seen as one committed to the cause of learning. Business clients today are very demanding especially in knowledge-oriented sectors. "But all said and done a clear nexus between academic excellence and performance in software industry is yet to be established. ," he adds.

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