Building Confidence at School Level
Y. JYOTSNA
SPEAK OUT Class presentations improve the confidence level PHOTO: K.P. DEEPAK
ST. JOSEPH'S COLLEGE FOR WOMEN (AUTONOMOUS) As part of an internship programme in Journalism and Mass Communications course, I had the opportunity to attend the NASSCOM IT Industry - Academia Workshop at Hotel Grand Bay on the 30th of May, 2005. Being in the same room with influential people like the NASSCOM President Mr. Kiran Karnik and the State Government IT Secretary Mrs. K. Ratna Prabha among other dignitaries was an over-whelming experience. Although unable to stay for the entire duration of the workshop, the one hour I spent there opened my eyes to enormous opportunities opening up shortly in Vizag.
The problems addressed at the workshop regarding the gap between the prescribed curriculum of the Universities and the requirements of the IT Industry is, however, very real. While Indians world over are considered highly talented in their respective technical fields, their communication and presentation skills are average at best.
The solution suggested at the workshop to address this problem, during the time I spent there, was to introduce soft skills training and special English classes at the degree level.
Several such programmes are already being implemented and many others are being taken up to help the graduates who are already in the field. Very soon, the situation is bound to improve tremendously.
However, the newcomers would still need to be polished. The measures being taken to remedy the problem will have to be continued for a longer time than planned. That is because training students at the degree level is not enough and in many cases, it might be a little late.
The main reason why Indians are lagging behind in their presentation skills despite being proficient in the technical areas is because of a lack of confidence. Psychologically speaking, early puberty is the time to build a proper confidence level in a child. By the time students reach the degree level, their self-concept and their assessment of their abilities is already quite defined. Moreover, children, especially in Andhra Pradesh, have minimum exposure to the outside world during their high school and intermediate years, with little chance for them to explore interests outside the realm of academics.
Therefore, if the concerned authorities would delve a little deeper and ease the situation in schools itself, implementing activities like class presentations at a much earlier stage, the citizens of tomorrow would be lot more aware and confident of their capabilities.
Education, as we all know, should be a more wide-ranging, and at the same time, enjoyable experience.
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Karnataka
Chennai
Coimbatore
Hyderabad
Madurai
Tiruchirapalli
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
