We are currently in that phase of civilization where anything seems to be possible . The ideas are flowing free and fast . Everyone around seems to have a new idea to make our life easier . What else would explain things like USB Fridge and Smart Windows ... some amazing ideas !! Who would have thought 10 years ago , that we would have the world in our hands using the smart phones . But wait , just when you start thinking that maybe you are in a world that is now being revolutionized by technology , the most technological institutes seem to remind you of the truth.
It's been 3 years since I have been at this place , and still I am amazed with the technological advancements of the institute . We have a net on campus , which at best , works at a speed of 4Kbps . Sure that might be our fault , but then the DNS servers crashing every weekend is certainly nothing to brag about . OK , maybe this was not so much in the hands of the Administration . So what do they do , come up with better ways to show us that they do not believe in technology .
Some examples:
It's been 3 years since I have been at this place , and still I am amazed with the technological advancements of the institute . We have a net on campus , which at best , works at a speed of 4Kbps . Sure that might be our fault , but then the DNS servers crashing every weekend is certainly nothing to brag about . OK , maybe this was not so much in the hands of the Administration . So what do they do , come up with better ways to show us that they do not believe in technology .
Some examples:
- When all the students were registered , we were supposed to give 2 or more photographs during the registration . Acceptable since they would need them for identification . Now 3 years later , when the mess cards are made , we are asked again for our photographs . I mean , are you joking . Cant you just scan out the pictures and use them instead of asking us to get pictures again and again. But who's complaining.
- The institute Gymkhana office is the "adda" as you would call it of the biggest problem in the institute . Every semester , people from all walks of life leave their differences aside to fight the person issuing the cards to make sure that they get some sort of permission to play . And the process to get a card is not very simple . You need to have a Master's degree to understand which of the queues to stand in to get a form , then come to realise you need a photo copy of the ID card that the institute has a record of , a queue to pay the bill and finally another queue to get the card attested . Phew , atleast I am bored of the word queue already !! And this in an institute which holds a position as one of the premier institutes of the country . But who's complaining.
- Add / Drop Courses : This time , there was suddenly a change of heart from the Acadamics department . I really do not know whether it was a devish plan to make the whole process more complicated or to just make sure that the students were made to run around . Well apparently they decided that Add / Drop Courses would be done online only this time . But the point they forgot to consider was " The Net does not seem to work " . People working on GPRS , screw you . Not everyone has a GPRS and it resulted in a lot of confusion . There is still a lot of confusion and no one is really sure of what is going on . Maybe some day we would have a system in place which makes the transition much more easier. But till that day comes , who's complaining
Well , if I continue complaining then I dont think that this blog would be sufficient . So lets get to the point . Why does this seem to happen . Not because we do not have the aptitude to maintain the appropriate technology , but because the people involved presently according to me are not so much interested in using technology to get the job done . They believe in the age old method of doing things manually and this is resulting in upteem problems for everyone . The scenario seems to be changing slowly but then it still might take a while to change the picture . Meanwhile , we can just hope that things like these get resolved at the earliest and we use technology in an appropriate way to make life in insti more comfortable .
PS : For people inside the institute , you would be suprised to know that there is a way to access the pictures that you submitted at the time of registration in the institute . For some reason , everyone can view the pictures . If you want to view the pictures , click on this . Another example of admin not knowing much about the website that has been created !!.
The root cause of many problems in our country, institutes and government organisations is not the lack of technology but the WILLINGNESS to invest time upfront to ease out the processes and lives of others. The difference between a civilized and non-civilized nation !! At any US university, you are given a registration number when you enter. For the rest of your stay there (and any re-admissions), that is your id, your exam roll-number, your login-id to anything of use. You are never asked to submit any hardcopies (except for certificates when you apply) . Surprisingly, many of these offices and IT departments are completely manned by Indians :). The same applies to standing in queues. I could go on and on about how Indians detests standing in queues, and I am including MBA/graduate parents at my daughters school. It makes me shudder even now at the lack of respect people have of anybody else's time. It is not rocket science to understand that the person who came first, gets served first !!
ReplyDeleteGood post.. perhaps you need to complain or ask someone to setup a review panel for these processes. If it can't be done at your institute, it can't be done anywhere :(
@registration number .. we have that too !! But unfortunately it's not made use of enough. It's more a case of the people in charge still not being in total sync with technology. In their defense , they are still accustomed to the tried and tested methods but then change is necessary.As for first come first serve , no one understands that in India . It's I am here and my work needs to be done... I know it's wrong but thats the sad truth :(. Let's hope something can be done about it ... there are talks of things being done here atleast to change the whole process.
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