Lack of campus jobs should be highlighted in political manifesto: students

Mumbai: Ahead of the state assembly elections, degree college students want all the political parties to include more campus placements in their manifestos and electoral campaigns. Final year students of degree colleges claim, the number of campus jobs for engineering, science, media and finance sector are dwindling every year.

Final year students, who have completed their course in April, are still waiting to get jobs. Students claim, a new academic year has begun from this June, but they have still not started working in the desired fields. Campus placements have been on a decline, which otherwise would have given a career take off.

Students said, irrespective of the political party, candidates should highlight this issue in their manifesto. Reshma Ravindran, a student, said, “We do not care which political party raises the issue of lack of campus placements. We just want the issue to be highlighted, so that we get more opportunities in future. There are fewer opportunities for campus placements nowadays.”

In addition, students revealed, when the companies come to the campuses, they offer jobs of another sector altogether. Ojas Shah, a student, said, “There are companies who hire engineers but give us a job of a technician. Despite completing four years of engineering, we have to work in the Information Technology (IT) sector instead of technical and innovation fields.” While, Hatim Shaikh, a student, said, “I have graduated in advertising, but I am getting offers for only social media.”

Teachers claim, companies want experienced candidates for higher positions and important roles. Julie Vincy, a senior teacher who manages campus placements, said, “When we approach companies for conducting campus interviews they often demand that students should have done prior internship or have experience of voluntary or relevant work. It is tough because, not all students can apply for internships while pursuing their studies.”