Engineering is about learning how to build things. It has always been that, but now it all about placements. In order to increase their placement stats, the Engineering colleges enforce ever stringent rules with no regards to its psychological impact on the students. Many of these rules are simply absurd and some even violate our civil rights.

Colleges justify these rules by claiming that these rules shape students to be better Engineers, despite the fact that these rules have absolutely nothing to do with engineering. Many of these colleges claim to have trained students who have excelled in various industries. However, A study shows that only 1% engineers graduating from Chennai colleges are even employable. The industry spends $1 Billion every year to train their new recruits, something that these colleges claim to have done.

Our country is experiencing a substantial level of growth and the economy needs more capable engineers. The country is now at a sad state of having to hire foreign engineers even for our own infrastructural needs. Every passing year, there are fewer engineers who graduate and an even smaller number of those employable. At this rate, our entire society is at a risk of collapsing.

Despite the fact that we engineers are supposed to learn and try to build new things, we're prohibited from using the very tools that would help us do that. Laptops and mobile phones are often seized and are not returned until a heavy fine is paid. In a globalized world, we ultimately lose out to competition from other cities and from other countries. The colleges stand to lose nothing, it is we students who end up in half paid jobs because we were never taught we were supposed to learn.

These rules are made by very narrow minded people who think that the only thing people would do with cellphones is take perverted pictures. The colleges base their rules on a set of ideals that THEY think every graduate should have. These include, not wearing jeans, not talking to opposite sex etc. These rules have absolutely nothing to do with training an Engineer. They're enforced regardless. This kind of moral policing, if done by any other outfit would have faced severe opposition from the press and people. However, when colleges do this, nobody speaks about it.

It's not even about these rules, it's about the way they enforce it. Students are forced to pay exorbitant fines, often without any receipts. The students are asked to bring their parents for the silliest reasons. Then they humiliate the students in front of their parents and then they humiliate the parents. Some colleges have gone so far as to even employ people to brutally enforce these rules. These enforcers have no place in an Engineering college and they act like they're thugs (most actually, are). They often use physical violence to enforce these rules.

This used to be an issue with a very colleges in the city. But sadly, many other colleges too have started to adopt these rules under the assumption that these rules are what makes the first tier colleges like 'Sairam' successful. Producing a good engineer is clearly not a priority for these colleges. They only focus on their placement scores and College rankings, those things that clearly don't have any meaning. This needs to stop.

The students out in streets protesting are not the rebels. They are the ones fighting for their civil rights to be respected. They are the ones fighting for some respect. Even if you're not presently facing these problems, the least you can do is give them your support.

Let's bring the focus back on real engineering, away from absurd rules and away from placement scores. Please sign this petition and pass it along.