Recently, discussions about the programming abilities of university professors in India have garnered widespread attention. In a Reddit thread, many Indian engineers expressed profound disappointment in their professors' programming skills.
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According to a study, only 2.5% of Indian engineers possess any artificial intelligence skills, and only 5.5% have basic programming knowledge. This situation raises questions about the quality of education.
Many engineers in the discussion believe that most professors have a shallow understanding of programming, often relying on external resources such as YouTube videos and online courses rather than their own knowledge to teach. Some users even mentioned that professors teaching computer networking courses almost entirely copied content from GateSmashers videos, repeating the same examples in class and directing students to watch the videos when problems arose. This issue is particularly severe in Tier-3 universities, where many students report a lack of originality in their professors' lectures, even directly copying screenshots from videos into their PowerPoint presentations.
In response to this predicament, many have raised questions about accountability. Some point out that Indian university professors are usually busy publishing papers and neglect practical teaching. Even though some excellent engineers graduate from these schools, they are often more welcomed internationally. As one educational figure put it, although the quality of some university courses is acceptable, the overall education system still lags behind industry development.
At the same time, the pay disparity is also a significant factor contributing to this phenomenon. Many professors' incomes are far from the industry salary, deterring some outstanding talents from choosing a teaching career. Currently, most professors earn between 10 to 12 lakh rupees per year, while industry salaries for ordinary engineers start at 30 lakh rupees or more. Such income gaps deter many potential talents.
However, some suggestions have been made, such as recruiting more professors with industry experience. Some engineers say they would prefer to learn from professors with five years of industry experience rather than scholars with only a PhD. Additionally, raising the bar for becoming a computer science professor and increasing salaries are considered important measures to improve the quality of education.
Key Points:
- 🧑💻 Many Indian engineers are disappointed with their university professors' programming abilities, believing they lack practical skills.
- 📉 Professors rely on external resources for teaching, resulting in a lack of originality and depth in educational content.
- 💰 Income disparities deter many outstanding talents from choosing teaching; it is suggested to introduce more professors with rich industry experience.