The government and the PEC must consider the implications of allowing more engineering institutions to operate
SUKKUR: Like many engineers, I have come to find some serious flaws in the government policies affecting engineers at present, with the prospects of these turning worse in the future. Unlike doctors, who are paid for the one year they do their house jobs, engineers are not paid in the first year or after they complete their degrees. This deprives them of earning valuable experience which benefits greatly while job-hunting.
The problem is compounded further by the flood of private institutions offering varying qualities of degrees. The country’s engineers are struggling to subsist in such an environment. The Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC), a government body for registering engineering institutions, is least bothered to ensure whether private institutions’ standards, such as the faculty and the lab equipment necessary to help educate engineers, meet the requirements. This has caused many engineers to run the risk of being unemployed. Many of them feel compelled to take jobs that are below their technical qualifications.
The government and the PEC must consider the implications of allowing more engineering institutions to operate considering the situation of the job market. Also, the PEC is requested to maintain a criterion and conduct a test to judge the eligibility of engineering graduates for a one-year grant. This would help add experience to engineers’ portfolios, besides enabling them to meet entry-level job requirements.
Engineer Naveed Mahar
Published in The Express Tribune, August 20th, 2015.
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