By Urvi Malvania,
The uphill climb to Father Agnel Private Industrial Training Institute in the posh Bandstand area of Mumbai’s Bandra may well be an indication of the steep challenges the management faces to run the institute.
The ITI is a part of the Father Agnel Ashram campus, which also includes a polytechnic and a soon-to-be-opened degree college. It occupies a couple of floors of a larger building, a veritable maze thanks to the lack of proper labelling of rooms. The second floor, which houses a common library, a few lecture rooms and labs, seemed to have lost the battle with Mumbai rains as puddles of water dotted the corridors.
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One of the mechanical labs, which also houses the principal’s office, has rows of equipment but just two students in attendance. The equipment itself showed signs of rust and was covered in dust in places, indicating infrequent maintenance and use.
Funding for upkeep is a major challenge for the ITI, principal Mushtaqahmed Malqundkar says. “We operate like any other private institute. Whatever fees we get, we put that money into paying out faculties, bills and whatever upgrade we can manage,” he said.
The institute has to largely depend on the education trust to make up for the shortfall in funds to continue operations.
“Some years, if we are lucky, a corporate will make a cash donation or offer on-job training for our students or donate some equipment. But a private ITI needs a constant benefactor, otherwise it is difficult to sustain,” Malqundkar adds.
The ITI does have tie-ups with auto companies like Toyota and Usha through which students get on-job experience, and at times are absorbed post the tenure of the training.
“What we also do to raise funds at times is run a service centre where we take on small jobs for electrical and appliance repair/service. This allows our students to get on-job training and helps the institute earn an extra buck. Many private ITIs do this on a larger scale too,” he says.
The ITI offers courses for motor vehicle mechanic, electrician, mechanical draughtsman and fitter training spanning two years. Each batch has up to 20 students, though in most cases, the full quota is not utilised.
Like many other ITIs, Fr. Agnel also sees a significant dropout rate for various reasons. Some students drop out because they get admission at their institute of choice, while some train for a year and then opt to join a local garage or electrician and start earning, Malqundkar says. Others simply lose interest.
“While we try our best to keep the students engaged, every batch sees dropouts. It is difficult to retain them. Some join just to appease their parents and then we face issues with attendance,” he explains.
Private ITIs also face competition from their government counterparts when it comes to attracting students because of the fee difference. However, government ITIs tend to have even higher dropout ratios, so the challenges of student retention persist across formats of the institute.
The problems Father Agnel faces are common across ITIs: Low enrolments, high student dropout rates, shortage of faculty, lack of industry-specific equipment, weak industry engagement and poor placement record.
Will the new scheme to upgrade 1,000 existing ITIs make any meaningful difference? Malqundkar isn’t too hopeful. “I do not think it will be of much help to private ITIs. Currently, even though there is a provision for government, it is a tedious process and not very efficient,” he adds.
From: financialexpress
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