How's your computer course coming along at Aptech?" I asked my friend Meera, who had decided to learn software management in the Mirzapur branch of the institute. "Don't ask," she shuddered, "These expensive courses are nothing but money-making rackets. They charged us Rs 15,000 for just six hours a week on the computer, and taught us FoxPro, which is obsolete. In fact, while we were there, Aptech headquarters had notified the institute in Mirzapur to update the course. But none of the instructors here knew anything but FoxPro. So they carried on teaching us the old course." Her sad story did not end there: "Aptech students countrywide are given three dates to appear for the final examinations. "The first of these went by without our even being told, as our course was way incomplete. The second time, we were told about the exam, but we refused to appear for it, as the course was still not over. When we were told of the third date, I had some urgent personal work. In the end, I really had to fight hard to be able to take my exam on another, more convenient date."
Meera's experience is not an unique one, but second-rate computer courses have not deterred the hordes waiting to sign up. It is as if this small town, like many others in UP, has just woken up to the wired world, and wants to connect to it. So, everyone from typing school owners to failed carpet exporters is offering computer courses. One finds, thus, the tiny Krishna Computer Institute (upgraded from Krishna Typing Institute) and the ironically named Hacker's Computer Institute in Varanasi, vying for the attention of potential students alongwith Aptech and NIIT. But, in most cases, the hopefuls who sign up for these classes are shortchanged. Infrastructure is shoddy. Meera told me that Aptech had just about 14 machines, which meant they had to be shared with at least one other student. "And of all their machines, only one had a colour monitor, and that was displayed at the entrance to make a good impression on newcomers," she sniffed. But then, she should count her blessings _ other institutes actually operate from tiny cubicles. Few have generators for back up power, which means students have to contend with crippling power cuts.
How these courses are taught is another prickly issue. Meera and her coursemates spent more time with their books than with computers. "The owner of this institute has the Aptech franchise, so the course material comes from Aptech, as did question papers. Beyond that, I don't think they exercised much control on the training provided here," said she. Good instructors are tough to source in towns such as Mirzapur, as the salaries offered are not attractive enough for people from bigger towns. So most times, teachers have diplomas from similar computer institutes.
In consequence, today there are a lot of `computer literate' people floating around, many of whom won't be able to tell a hard disc from a UPS. My husband recently interviewed local candidates for jobs in his carpet export company, quite a few had cited `net surfing' as one of their hobbies. "Which number do you dial to connect to the Net?" he asked. The answers were slow to come. Some gave their office phone numbers; others furnished their residence phone numbers. Sadly, nobody knew the right number. Others were just about able to put the computer on. That was when we realized that these computer institutes were doing their bit in adding to the ranks of the educated, but unemployable youths in small town India.
