Engineering Students Interest In Army
Engineering students attend an interview of Indian Army under the University Enter Scheme at SNR College in Coimbatore on Sunday. In the wake of the many placement drives that are organised in colleges, the one that was held at SNR Sons College came as a refreshing change.Though strictly not a placement drive, the preliminary interview held by representatives of the Station Head Quarters, Wellington, of the Indian Army, from September 5 to September 7 was a big draw among engineering students of the district. More than 1,500 students from more than 25 colleges and three universities attended.
The interview was held under the aegis of the University Entry Scheme (UES-18) of the Indian Army. The scheme involved a preliminary interview for the third and final year engineering students for qualifying for the next stage towards becoming officers in the Army in its technical branches. Those shortlisted here will attend the Service Selection Board (SSB) that will be held in Pune in February 2009. Successful candidates will go on to do the one-year training at the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun, which will make them officers.
P.S. Senthil Kumar, Placement Officer, Sri Ramakrishna Institute of Technology (SRIT), the organiser of the event, selected the venue and decided on the three-day duration after seeing the response from the engineering colleges. “Even before the start of the event, we had 1,500 registrations. The response has been overwhelming. We tried this exercise to show students that software was not the only option for engineering graduates,” said Mr. Senthil Kumar.
Colonel S.R. Maranabasari, Administrative Commandant of the Station Headquarters, and the presiding officer, said: “The interview is to shortlist candidates for the three technical arms of the Army – Electronics and Mechanical Engineering, Engineers, and Signals. The questions are to elicit their level of motivation and attitude towards the work culture in the Armed Forces. Knowing how supportive their families are is very important. We were happy to note that almost all of them have the backing of their family, even though they are not from a defence background.”
He was also impressed with the large turnout. He believed that the youth were more knowledgeable about options now. They chose the army for the “good way of life” and the adventure. “With the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission, candidates know that the pay and allowances are better. They also get a chance to use their technical skill for the Indian Army,” said Col. Maranabasari.
Most of the students who had come were sincere about joining the Army. It was not for a lark. They were keen to serve the nation and saw the interview as a good opportunity to get a feel of the final selection. M. Yuvaraj, a mechanical engineering student from Dr. Mahalingam College of Engineering and Technology, Pollachi, said he was keen on joining the army. “I want to use my engineering skills for the army,” he added. S. Anand, a student of SRIT, saw joining the army as a better career opportunity.
