BSc IT, the final frontier

When BSc IT students commence the third and final year of the course, they find a steep rise in the level of curriculum and often face difficulties in coping with it.

Students tend to score as much as 80% marks in the first two years and the passing percentage is almost 100%. However, in the third year, when exam papers are set and assessed by the University of Mumbai, the overall passing percentage plummets to as low as 55%.

Given that final year marks are considered for recruitment purpose, this can often make or break career aspirations. Ravi Eppaturi, associate vice-president, Tata Consultancy Services, explains, "Engineers are recruited in large numbers by software companies, but the demand exceeds the supply and we have found that BSc IT and MSc IT students measure up equally in terms of technical expertise. To meet the standards set by the industry, BSc IT students need to be focussed on gaining sound knowledge and achieving the confidence to apply it."

Analysing the inconsistency of final year results, it becomes obvious that students are unclear about basic concepts. Siddharth Mule, a BSc IT graduate, points out that a dearth of IT proficient teaching faculty leads to non-completion of syllabus. This results in students resorting to self-study or ignoring the subject, thus falling short of expectation.

With a cut off score of above 70% during recruitment, students need to be focused on covering their syllabus in a systematic manner, especially when this one year decides their future for the next forty years. Several institutes have been stepping in to fill this knowledge gap and assist TYBSc students in achieving a good score in the third year.

Sanjeev Dwivedi, faculty at Vidyalankar, explains the methodology that they use. "We share useful tips on study of subjects, counsel students over the choice of electives having great potential and brief them on how to clear technical interviews during recruitment. Students are taught theory and its implementation together, so that they are familiar with the use of concepts. This way their basic concepts are clear and practical knowledge is on the right track from day one. With IT qualified engineers as teaching faculty guiding students in putting their projects together, the students industry enabled," he says.

Ameya Gharpure, another BSc IT graduate, found the TYBSc requirements easier to cope with because of the guidance from Vidyalankar. "I have never experienced such excellent teaching methodology before. The concepts were so well taught that I still have them on my fingertips.

A strong BSc IT coaching not only prepared me for the MCA entrance exam, but also ensured my selection in placement interviews at par with IT engineers,"
he shares.