Why PEC Is Not the Ideal Choice for Your Engineering Education
After completing my 8th semester, I can confidently say that pursuing engineering at PEC (Public Engineering College) is a suboptimal choice. This article aims to provide sincere advice to prospective students, highlighting the shortcomings of PEC in terms of teaching quality, research culture, and placement outcomes.
Challenges with Education and Administration at PEC
The ethos of higher education has evolved significantly. Online resources, MOOCs, and platforms like MIT OpenCourseWare, NPTEL, Coursera, and Khan Academy offer unparalleled access to some of the best educators globally. Today, the primary value of attending a college lies in its unique educational environment, culture, and the quality of peers one gets to interact with. However, PEC falls short in these aspects.
Lack of Quality Professors: The college does not attract top-tier faculty members. As a result, students are often left with unqualified or inexperienced lecturers. In contrast, institutions like NITs (National Institutes of Technology) and BITS (Birla Institute of Technology and Science) have significantly better professors and peer networks.
Poor Research and Startup Culture: PEC has a near-absence of a research culture and no strong startup ecosystem. This is in stark contrast to what one might expect from a technically focused institution. Students are often left with no meaningful avenues for higher studies or innovation.
Subpar Placement Scenario
Placement outcomes are another area where PEC significantly underperforms. While institutions like CU (Chandigarh University) and CGC Landran offer competitive placements with an average package of 5-6 lakhs, PEC struggles to achieve the same. The situation is even bleaker when one considers that PEC may attract only a fraction of the number of companies, with average packages around 6-6.5 lakhs.
Faulty Administration and Inhumane Environment
The administration and faculty at PEC are often uncaring. While some instructors do not even bother to attend classes regularly, Emergency quizzes and assignments are piled up for the end of the semester. More troubling is the inhumane attitude of both teachers and administration towards students, especially during challenging times like the pandemic. Lack of support for students who fall ill is a significant concern. Additionally, the failure to manage student workload and learning efficiently often results in incomplete degrees and prolonged academic delays, impacting students' careers.
Consequences of Choosing PEC
PEC continues to thrive, mere public reputation. The college cannot claim quality education, effective administration, a good environment, or strong placement outcomes. Prospective students should seriously consider alternatives like NITs, BITS, or other reputed institutions, especially if they are freshers. Even if students are located in Chandigarh or Punjab, they should not assume that proximity to home or a college's perceived ‘goodness’ justifies choosing PEC.
It is imperative that students weigh their choices carefully, opting for a better institution that can provide them with a robust educational experience, opportunities for innovation and research, and a strong foundation for their future careers.
- Sincere advice from a graduating senior