<p>The decision of the Board of Technical Examination making the bridge course examination compulsory for students of Industrial Training Institute (ITI), who have secured lateral admissions to diploma courses, has put them in a tight spot.<br /><br /></p>.<p>As per the decision, students will not get their diploma certificates without clearing the bridge course examination. However, the score of this examination will not be added to the overall percentage. The provision for ITI students to laterally seek admission to second year diploma (third semester) was facilitated by the All India Council for Technical Education from the academic year 2011-12.<br /><br />Bridge course is being conducted from July last. On April 17 this year, the Department of Technical Education had sent out an official communication to colleges reiterating that students will not be issued certificates without clearing this examination.<br /><br />The course was introduced after it was found that many students struggled to cope with their diploma subjects.<br /><br />Ambitious aims<br /><br />Officials in the Department of Technical Education said the decision to conduct an examination based on the bridge course was taken to ensure that the students took the course seriously. While the decision appears encouraging, students are irked because colleges do not want to invest time in tutoring them for the course.<br /><br />Students can secure admission to diploma courses after completing a minimum of two or more years in the ITI course recognised by the National Council for Vocational Training and Central Apprenticeship Council. <br /><br />They will be enrolled directly in the third semester. To update them with the first two semesters, as part of the bridge course, students will have to appear for Applied Mathematics Paper I and English Communication in the third semester.<br /><br /> For the fourth semester, they have to clear another paper, Applied Mathematics II. The syllabus for these papers is the same as that of the first and second semesters of diploma courses. They have to appear for this examination along with other general subjects of that semester. Students will be given time till their sixth semester to complete the bridge course. <br /><br />Students speak<br /><br />The whole intention of it seems to be diluted with the fact that students have taken to attending tuitions to clear this examination. At the end of it, students complained, it will not even be considered for their aggregate percentage.<br /><br />“Rural students, especially, find it all the more difficult. For, what is the point in introducing English Communication without anybody coaching us?” asked a student of SJP College in the City, requesting anonymity. He said the bridge course caused him much worry than the regular course.<br /><br />Another student of the college, Praveen, who is in his IV semester, felt that more than helping them, the course complicated the situation. “While the rest of the class appears for seven subjects, those who have gained lateral entry have to appear for nine subjects. We do not get as much time as the other students to prepare for the regular subjects, as we are burdened with extra subjects,” he said. <br /><br />Siddiqui A Wasim, pursuing electrical and electronics course, said the course would benefit students only if colleges conducted classes for it.</p>
<p>The decision of the Board of Technical Examination making the bridge course examination compulsory for students of Industrial Training Institute (ITI), who have secured lateral admissions to diploma courses, has put them in a tight spot.<br /><br /></p>.<p>As per the decision, students will not get their diploma certificates without clearing the bridge course examination. However, the score of this examination will not be added to the overall percentage. The provision for ITI students to laterally seek admission to second year diploma (third semester) was facilitated by the All India Council for Technical Education from the academic year 2011-12.<br /><br />Bridge course is being conducted from July last. On April 17 this year, the Department of Technical Education had sent out an official communication to colleges reiterating that students will not be issued certificates without clearing this examination.<br /><br />The course was introduced after it was found that many students struggled to cope with their diploma subjects.<br /><br />Ambitious aims<br /><br />Officials in the Department of Technical Education said the decision to conduct an examination based on the bridge course was taken to ensure that the students took the course seriously. While the decision appears encouraging, students are irked because colleges do not want to invest time in tutoring them for the course.<br /><br />Students can secure admission to diploma courses after completing a minimum of two or more years in the ITI course recognised by the National Council for Vocational Training and Central Apprenticeship Council. <br /><br />They will be enrolled directly in the third semester. To update them with the first two semesters, as part of the bridge course, students will have to appear for Applied Mathematics Paper I and English Communication in the third semester.<br /><br /> For the fourth semester, they have to clear another paper, Applied Mathematics II. The syllabus for these papers is the same as that of the first and second semesters of diploma courses. They have to appear for this examination along with other general subjects of that semester. Students will be given time till their sixth semester to complete the bridge course. <br /><br />Students speak<br /><br />The whole intention of it seems to be diluted with the fact that students have taken to attending tuitions to clear this examination. At the end of it, students complained, it will not even be considered for their aggregate percentage.<br /><br />“Rural students, especially, find it all the more difficult. For, what is the point in introducing English Communication without anybody coaching us?” asked a student of SJP College in the City, requesting anonymity. He said the bridge course caused him much worry than the regular course.<br /><br />Another student of the college, Praveen, who is in his IV semester, felt that more than helping them, the course complicated the situation. “While the rest of the class appears for seven subjects, those who have gained lateral entry have to appear for nine subjects. We do not get as much time as the other students to prepare for the regular subjects, as we are burdened with extra subjects,” he said. <br /><br />Siddiqui A Wasim, pursuing electrical and electronics course, said the course would benefit students only if colleges conducted classes for it.</p>
