Andhra Pradesh

Teaching a thing or two

Andhra University College of Engineering Principal Allam Appa Rao, one of the panellists at The Hindu –Education Plus Career Counselling 2008, stumped aspirants of engineering stream when he asked them why none of them thought of a teaching career in engineering colleges, particularly after the recommendations of VI Central Pay Commission sought to benefit them a great deal.

“Better go for a good engineering teaching career,” he advised them. When someone asked another expert Chairman of Raghu Engineering College Kalidindi Raghu as to which university was better, particularly when JNTU kept changing syllabus on a regular basis, Mr. Raghu carefully replied that JNTU constantly updated its syllabus every year. However, Prof. Appa Rao took up the cause of Andhra University directly, saying that AU updated its syllabus every semester, much to the amusement of the audience.

The Greater Visakha Municipal Corporation’s smart card project to provide paid parking lots may not help ease road blockade problem in the city.

Though parking lots are proposed in 51 areas, it will have a facility to provide space for only 774 four-wheelers and 4,834 two-wheelers. Hence, GVMC as well Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority should identify certain vacant lands for construction of multi-storied parking terminals to solve the problem.

Instead of giving sites for multiplexes and shopping malls, the officials concerned should realise the need to provide adequate parking space.

College students are going wild these days. Some engineering students have gone to the extent of snatching gold chains and mobile phones in a bid to lure the fair sex.

There are some who are taking to drugs and making a mess of their careers. Easy access to Internet, mobile phones and lifestyle changes are no doubt contributing to the wayward behaviour among students.

“Parents, however, have to take a greater share of the blame,” feels Police Commissioner N. Sambasiva Rao. Parents buy expensive mobiles, bikes and cars for their college-going children in a bid to make their life easy.

They feel that their job is done with equipping their children with modern gadgets but fail to keep a tab on their movements. In the absence of proper supervision, some of the immature children are indulging in crime to satiate their desires.

(Prabhakkar Sharma, Santosh Patnaik and B. Madhu Gopal)

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