The Hindu : Kerala / Kochi News : City turning into an education hub

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Saturday, Oct 18, 2008
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Kerala

Kerala - Kochi

City turning into an education hub

G. Krishnakumar

A wide variety of educational institutions have come up in Kochi

Photo: H. Vibhu

EDUCATIONAL VISTAS OPEN UP: Students at Bharata Mata College, Kakkanad. —

KOCHI: The commercial heartland of the State is fast turning into an education hub. More and more youngsters from within and outside Kerala have made the city their ‘home-away-from-home’ for pursuing their higher education programmes.

Better connectivity, wide variety of institutions, and the growing opportunities in the job market here seem to be the major attractions for the young talents to land up in Kochi. Braving all odds, they want to make the city their favourite education destination.

Agrees Shyam P. Nair, a management student: “I did my schooling in Bangalore. I was a bit apprehensive when my father, who was working with a multinational company, decided to settle in Kochi after retirement. But I am happy today, thanks to the educational opportunities available here. It is truly far ahead of what is available in the rest of the State”.

The records point towards the growing educational credentials of the city. From a very few higher educational institutions a decade back, the place now boasts of some of the popular colleges in South India.

The list is not just confined to engineering and medical programmes but has expanded to several other courses like pharmacy, nursing and biotechnology both in government and private sectors.

Arun Mohan, whose parents are working in Dubai, chose Kochi when his father asked him to select a place of higher study in Kerala. Presently pursuing his mechanical engineering programme in a private engineering college here, the youngster now feels that his selection was never wrong.

“Compared to Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi has many advantages. The city is fast developing into a metro. The academic facilities here match national standards. Moreover, I got the opportunity to meet several students from the country and abroad. This interaction helped in broadening my views,” he said.

Many educational institutions have students coming in from various parts of the country. Records say that Cochin University of Science and Technology attracts at least 500 students from Bihar every year for its B. Tech programmes. Foreign students have also landed here to pursue their goals.

Elizabeth Marie Chatelain, a student from the U. S., who landed here as part of a cultural exchange programme, said that she got an opportunity to live for one year in a culture and society that is completely different from her own.

“The friendships I have formed here are ones that will surely impact the rest of my life. Meaningful conversations over society, culture, politics, and everyday life have transformed my perceptions of the world and its citizens,” she said.

The city is also opening up windows of opportunities to the student community thanks to its popularity among recruitment companies as a growing talent pool. The who-is-who of the Indian IT industry lapped up fresh talents from campuses here in 2007.

Hundreds of students in engineering colleges in Ernakulam district have already found placements in leading companies. Many fortune 100 companies have shown their eagerness to hire freshers from campuses here.

Stating that companies scout for talents here, as they are hard-working and bright, Remya Ann Jose, an engineering student, said that coming to Kochi is all the more economic. “There are several engineering colleges here. It also saves a lot of their (company officials) time,” she said. Students pointed out that companies were now looking at quality-specific students. They also recruit candidates having good communication and technological skills. Companies also gauge the confidence level of the students in the interview besides rating the performance in the written interview.

Varun Mohan, a student of Electronics engineering, said that Kochi offers a lot of opportunities for students to improve their personal and professional skills. The growing repute of the city, as an IT and industrial hub, also comes in handy on several occasions,” he said.

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