Saturday, August 2, 2008

My Education in India


My parents, Gangadharan and Sobhana left for Malaya after I and Sukumaran joined in the Middle school.I and Sukumaran joined in St John’s Middle school ,Mattam ,Mavelikara in August 1947 in form two and form one respectively after getting approval from the District education Officer. We passed the entrance examination conducted by the school for selection. We both knew some Malayalam and therefore we did not have difficulties to get through the selection process.. In home we both had Malayalam tuition by a Malayalam pundit Sri Gopala Paniker. He was a retired teacher in a Malayalam school. He was a scholar also in Malayalam. We had tuition for a year.The medium of instruction in all schools in Travancore was in Malayalam in 1947. We picked up Malayalam very fast. Those days form three examination was centralized and is called ESLC examination. I got first class in ESLC. In the same year in 1949 our school became high school.. I continued to study in the same school .I stood first in all subjects in all classes and got first class and first in SSLC in the School. I got admission in first group (Maths, and science) in University Intermediate College, Trivandrum and stayed in the University hostel.near Palayam.In 1955, I got admission in the Birla Institute of Technology Mesra Ranchi, Bihar. There were sixty students in Electrical and sixty in Mechanical batch. I took electrical engineering as my subject .Ours were the first batch of the Institute. BIT Ranchi was an all India Institute and selection then was made on marks and based on state allocation. . Students from almost all states in India were admitted. Travancore Cochin state had two seat then. Later this state wise allocation was terminated and competitive all India test was conducted. I passed out engineering graduation in first class with distinction in May1959 Three teaching staff in the engineering college had influenced my life very much to lead a disciplined life. One was the Principal Major M.C.Pande. He never tolerated indiscipline. He said in many of his speech that ‘ if discipline in society or individual fails ,the society or the individual will crumble like a piece of glass falling on ground “ He endorsed the students to follow discipline in their professional life.He told the final year students not to pose as an engineers to the workforce, but to learn from every one.In one occasion he suspended a relative of then President of India for ragging. Later he issued transfer certificate to that student and sent him away. In another case he dismissed a second year student for molesting a construction work woman.In all these cases he consulted a few students and the staff disciplinary committee before taking action Other two are Prof: Janakiram Head of Department Mechanical Engineering and Dr Manohar Head of Department Civil Engineering. They thought the students, that no Engineers can achieve success in professional life unless one cultivates the leadership quality in oneself..Their advice to the final year students at the valedictory function were “do not cave in under pressure and need to have positive mindset, and think big, when one enters the reality of life’. Student’s life was over when one enters a job. But learning had to be continued even after leaving the school or college.Qualification is only a foundation, learning is the tool, and knowledge is the quality of the tool to work with for the upliftment of social and economical order of mankind.

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