One more education fair at Coimbatore
Education fairs seem to be the flavour of the season. There is no dearth of options for students who can make their choices instantly.The education and career fair organised by Dinamalar at Ramakrishna Kalyana Mandapam is exhaustive. With over 70 colleges from various parts of Tamil Nadu, it offers an opportunity for students who have completed their higher secondary education to collect information about courses offered by the colleges.Conducted in association with the SRM University, Chennai, the three-day fair that opened here on Wednesday has over 104 stalls put up by colleges, universities and various training institutes including foreign education consultancies."This is the ideal time to organise such a fair as most of the students will be scouting for options most suitable to them. By bringing so many colleges under one roof, they can make their choices easily," says S.Sudharsan, Administrative Officer, Dinamalar."The response so far has been overwhelming. There are students from various parts of Coimbatore district and even Erode," he adds.Apart from run-of-the-mill courses, the fair showcases something unique such as the engineering courses for the hearing impaired offered by Kalasalingam University in Srivilliputtur, 60 kilometres from Madurai.The university offers computer science and engineering, civil engineering, information technology and mechanical engineering courses for the hearing impaired.Most of the hearing impaired students are compelled to stop their studies with Class X as there are no opportunities for higher education available to them," says P.Venkumar, Associate Professor of Department of Mechanical Engineering.
Special education
Each discipline has 60 seats and about 50 per cent of the students who require financial assistance will be given free education, Mr.Venkumar says. The professors will be given training in special education and the programme will be for a period of six years.Around 300 hearing impaired students from various parts of Tamil Nadu and outside the State have applied for the course. It was introduced in January 2007, he adds.For those who are fishing for unconventional courses, a couple of colleges are offering nautical science, marine engineering, aeronautical engineering, aerospace engineering and genetic engineering.
"The advantage of doing such courses is that the demand for personnel qualified in such specialised areas is high and the supply is low.There is very little competition too," says Hari Krishnan, Business Development Executive of Southern Academy of Maritime Studies, Chennai.There are plenty of job opportunities as deck cadets, catering in cruise liners and engine work, he adds.Institutes offering short-term courses in CNC machine programming and operations, fashion technology and accounting have also put up stalls.The fair includes career guidance lectures from 10 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 6.30 p.m. on various educational and career opportunities for students.They will cover multimedia, logistics, tourism, microbiology, aircraft maintenance, chartered accountancy, maritime science, visual communication and journalism. Subject experts will conduct the lectures.
Courses in media education, which include recording, film-making, games design, animation, and electronic music production are also available. Colleges from Chennai, Madurai, Namakkal, Salem, Erode, and Cuddalore find a place too."This gives the students a chance to compare the courses offered in other colleges with those in the city," Mr. Sudarsan says. Most of the colleges are selling application forms at the fair and some even opt for spot admissions.
