Skills and education hold more significance than a degree. If I can acquire digital skills within a year, should I enroll in a university for a degree or utilize this time to gain hands-on experience and become an expert? Degrees are essential where they are genuinely needed. Many professions require a degree for expertise in that specific field. It is indeed disheartening to witness the undermining of the entire education system through misguided marketing techniques. There should be a collective voice raised against such practices.
Pakistani Universities and Their Role in Producing IIT level Software Engineers
Pakistani universities, in general, are often deemed inferior in producing software engineers compared to someone who can at least provide for their children – a task seen as more commendable than claiming to be a software engineer, a title frequently thrown around by university graduates as if it holds little significance. The international and local markets are distinct entities.
Why doesn’t the Higher Education Commission (HEC) address the urgent need for IT and skills development in our country? This aspect is often overlooked despite there being a course mandated by HEC that teaches about Ethical and Legal dimensions of Engineering. It is widely acknowledged that if our universities were to follow the standards you advocate, there would be little interest. Most people understand that it is more pragmatic to save time, pursue a course, start earning, and then acquire a degree from abroad.
In the initial semester, the curriculum includes ICT and Programming fundamentals, excluding subjects like Islamic Studies and English. The second semester covers Object-Oriented Programming, where instruction relies on slides and concepts such as pointers are explained concerning a book known for its numerous mistakes by an English author. Subsequently, Data Structures are introduced, with a recommended English book. Additional subjects in the curriculum consist of Physics, as well as language-related subjects like Arabic and English.
