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While we increasingly know India as the new IT destination and have witnessed significant growth in this sector, India is also becoming a global knowledge hub. Talent, knowledge and spirit combine to make Indian students a preferred choice both domestically and internationally. A plethora of higher education universities and institutions in the country have been successfully producing some of the finest minds in the field of communication and technology, signifying that the large number of young graduates are not only qualified to do the job, but also bring with them the skills and spirit, giving them the cut above the rest. Despite whooping numbers of fresh graduates year after year, quality has been impressed and addressed, as it becomes a key determinant in the IT jobs arena.

Tracking the growth and analysis the present scenario of IT training and development in India, is the third Dataquest-IDC Survey of the top T-Schools in India.

The good omen here is the emergence of a second rung of T-Schools in the survey-addressing the grave problem of a growing dip in the number of qualified techies.

For the past two years Dataquest, in conjunction with IDC, has been conducting a nationwide survey of the various tech schools and colleges in India. All the institutions-technology and engineering colleges-are then ranked based on composite scores that are arrived on the basis of quite a few parameters including campus placements, infrastructure, academic environment, industry interface.

Workforce and T-Schools
This survey that not only does it provides a way of benchmarking the various T-schools in India but also an interesting insight on how the technology education infrastructure is evolving in India. T-Schools play a very important role in the current economy and will be extremely vital players in the not-so distant future. Consider this: according to estimates published in the latest Nasscom Strategic Review, India will be the largest contributor to the growth in the worldwide working population over the next 5 years, adding approximately 71 mn workforce to the global total. And since services based on technology revolution has landed on Indian shores, the number of IT-BPO professionals employed domestically is estimated to have grown from less than 200,000 in 1998 to over 1.6 mn in 2007.

Yet, the picture is not all that rosy. At one time or another, industry veterans, analysts, experts, all have warned of the paucity of educated resources in India and, more importantly, the quality that is currently available. Various companies have belabored the fact that India's competitive edge could take a beating if these issues are not resolved. It is not an issue of quantity alone but of quality as well.

According to data released by the Department of Secondary and Higher Education, (Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India), there are 347 institutes of higher education in India (including 18 central universities, 205 state universities, 99 deemed universities, 18 recognized of national importance and 7 private universities) and 16,885 colleges with a total enrollment of over 9.9 mn, producing 495,000 technical graduates, nearly 2.3 mn other graduates and over 300,000 post-graduates each year.

With 347 higher education institutions in the country, the need for standardization in IT training cannot be undermined. Demands for well-trained, skilled and competent IT professionals in on a rise and ensuring that we continue to provide world-class IT professionals would mean giving due diligence to resources available for students and improving the quality of education.

The Seven Samurais
For the third year in the row, the Seven Samurais of T-Schools in India, the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) have retained the top slots in the survey. The IITs continue to maintain their winning streak, though there have been quite a few changes in how these institutes are placed amongst them.

According to the survey findings, IIT-Kharagpur's anointment as the first among the equals can be attributed to the vast improvement in infrastructure and industry interface. The batch strength of PG courses has also increased by a large extent and the maximum salary has grown exponentially in the current survey. IIT-Kharagpur was the first IIT to be established in 1951. It boasts of a sprawling complex, having around 30 academic departments and over 15,000 inhabitants. Its central library is the largest technical library in the whole of Asia.

Interestingly, IT companies have recruited 28% students from these colleges in 2007, down from 35% in 2006. This could be due to rising average salaries demanded by students of these premier institutes. Possibly, the IIT graduates are now looking at non-IT sector also as a career opportunity.

Even then, IITs continue to be the flag-bearers, much like the late Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had said at the first convocation address of IIT-Kharagpur in 1956.

"Here in the place of that Hijli Detention Camp stands the fine monument of India, representing India's urges, India's future in the making. This picture seems to me symbolical of the changes that are coming to India."

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