CRACK IN THE THEORY

Companies spend millions on graduate training to bridge the gap between book theory and real life practice. Why then should one attend college at all?

NEVER REGARD STUDY AS A DUTY BUT AS AN ENVIABLE OPPORTUNITY FOR LEARNING.

Albert Einstein,

German- born American scientist who won the 1921 Nobel Prize for Physics ( 1879- 1955)

In 2007, Infosys invested $ 450 million— the same amount it costs to send a shuttle into space— on a 5,00,000 square foot corporate education campus in Mysore, Karnataka. The campus is equipped to train 14,000 employees per session. Given that top engineering schools already charge around ` 8 to 10 lakhs a year in tuition fees, why do companies feel the need to reinvest in internal employee training again?

Surveying 2,264 MBA graduates from 29 cities and 100 B- schools across India, MBAUniverse. com noted this month that the employability index of graduates has decreased from 25 per cent in 2007 to 21 per cent.

Each student was tested under the following standard parameters: verbal, quantitiative and reasoning on behalf of recruiting companies. The survey also showed that reasoning ability is the lowest amongst MBA graduates.

Perhaps theory is not accounting for changes in the professional world or students undermine the importance of practical learning. Eitherway this theory- practice disconnect actually lowers the employment potential of the many students who pin their future hopes on that college degree.