Why Most Schools and Colleges Still Use Turbo C: An Obsolete Trend in Education
Why Use Obsolete Technologies in Education?
I, as a seasoned software professional with extensive experience, have trained and coached numerous students in various software technologies. Many of my students are from CBSE 102, and they use Turbo C at school. When I inquired about the reason for its continued usage, they indicated that the CBSE board might have mandated it. However, this practice is quite concerning. Training students with outdated technologies sets them up for failure in the modern tech industry.
Tools like Turbo C are archaic; they lack standard header files such as std::string. While my training institute utilizes state-of-the-art tools like Eclipse with CDT plugin and Cygwin GCC compiler, these should be the norm rather than the exception in educational settings.
Oracle 10g in Colleges: An Expensive and Inefficient Solution
Not only that, but recently, I discussed the use of Oracle 10g for RDBMS programming in a college with a fellow professor. She mentioned that many colleges in India employ Oracle 10g, forcing them to either pay a hefty price or rely on pirated copies. The recommendation to switch to MySQL was met with resistance. Why? Because students might face issues when using Oracle 10g in external lab work at other colleges. This situation is truly saddening.
UGC Syllabus and Android Teaching: A Critical Analysis
To offer a broader perspective, I wish to discuss another critical issue that concerns me as a technical teacher. Recently, the Universal Grants Commission (UGC) announced a new syllabus for college-level CS that includes Android as an elective subject. However, the syllabus instructs colleges to teach Android using Eclipse with ADT plugin. Interestingly, most contemporary Android developers have moved on to using Android Studio, which is significantly more powerful and user-friendly.
The current state of educational technology is not meeting the demands of the modern tech industry. Students graduating from such institutions often possess only a superficial understanding of technology and may take time to gain employable skills through rote learning and general knowledge. This is a stark reality of the current educational system in India, where students are exposed to outdated tools and technologies.
In conclusion, it is crucial for educational institutions to update their curriculum and incorporate modern tools and technologies to prepare students for the real-world challenges they will face in the tech industry. By doing so, we can ensure that our graduates are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to succeed in their careers.
Implementing these changes will not only benefit the students but also contribute to the overall growth of the tech industry in our country.