India [control education]

India is the second largest country in the world in terms of population (after China), and the seventh largest in terms of area. Together with China, India is among the two oldest continuous civilizations in the world. It is stated that, in general, control education at the undergraduate level in India fares relatively well when compared with its counterparts in more advanced countries. The graduating engineers are able to cope with the requirements of Indian industry and technology. It is stated that, at the postgraduate level, the situation is not so happy, in that the overall quality of education is comparable to mediocre overseas universities. There is also a clear lack of a sense of direction in the choice of thesis topics. Here again it is emphasized that some committed individuals, be they faculty or students, are able to overcome the manifold disadvantages of working in an Indian environment and to produce first-rate work. But these are the exceptions and not the rule. The situation is exacerbated by a very low level of interaction between the government scientific departments and industry on the one hand, and the academic institutions on the other hand. However, the situation may change as budgets become tighter at academic institutions, and accountability increases