Engineering course in Odia: Concerns raised over accuracy, impact and job opportunities 

All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) directive to translate all engineering books from English to Odia to make education more accessible to the students seems like it  may take more time and planning than anticipation. 

This drive has received mixed reactions from faculties, engineers and engineering students.

Even though it aims at improving educational accessibility, many engineering faculties and professionals have expressed concerns, questioning the efficacy of the translations and their impact on technical accuracy. 

Faculty concerns on introducing engineering courses in regional languages

“There are many terms in English that is not known to us in Odia and for this, the students will suffer as they have followed a certain study pattern. However, if we manage to teach the students those terminologies beforehand then only it would be beneficial to the students and especially it would be helpful for the students who passed out from Odisha board including the BSE and CHSE; but if we fail to do so then it would be troublesome for both faculties and students. When the students are unable to understand certain jargon, they immediately refer to the internet but if they cannot find it there, it would pose another problem with the usage of various translation platforms,” said Saroj Kumar Swain, faculty of IE Classes, Bhubaneswar.

“Both faculties and students need to be trained before this initiative gets introduced into the Odisha education system,” he added.

“The faculties are not acquainted and neither are the students. So, it will be very difficult to teach the students Engineering courses in the regional language. Another difficulty that may arise is that the students might not be able to thrive in multinational companies as they only communicate in English. There are certain criteria of the multinational companies and they might not wish to hire students who have studied engineering in the regional language, and it would also be difficult for students who might get job opportunities abroad,” stated Dr Bichitrananda Guru, faculty, Ajay Binay Institute of Technology, Cuttack.

Student perspectives on learning engineering in regional languages

“I would prefer to learn Engineering courses in English because even if there are institutions that teach in regional language, it will be difficult for us to remember the technical terms. I am more concerned about the quality of translation than the accuracy. The books should be able to explain complicated concepts in simple Odia or there is no use of those books,” mentioned Nitin Balajee, an Engineering student.

Professional insights on the challenges of engineering courses in regional languages 

“In my opinion, the government should make a more detailed plan as the initiative would affect the students greatly. Students have already studied many terminologies in English and suddenly shifting to Odia might pose a problem. I deal with many clients who are from abroad but the students who would do their studies only in Odia and are unable to communicate the technicalities in English, the chances of them getting hired get slim. Also, the duration of the implementation is going to be much longer than we are expecting,” said  Abhishek Biswal, Software Engineer.

“Even if the students pass out with studying Engineering in Odia, they will need to face interviews in English, also how would it be possible for them go communicate with other employees working under them? It is practically not possible to instruct everyone in your regional language. Let’s say that Odisha has enough job opportunities for the students who have passed from these institutions but are the companies going to hire every other employee from Odisha? Students willing to pursue higher studies such as post-graduation or PhD in an institution like IIT or MIT, will face problems there,” said Satyabrata Purohit, Mechanical Engineer.