Siddaraju R. from Mysuru managed to complete Class 10. But, circumstances forced him to enrol himself in an Industrial Training Institute (ITI) instead of a Pre-University College. In his second year of studying Electronic Mechanics in a government ITI, he is beginning to think he has made a mistake.
“My father is a teashop owner. It would have been difficult for me to pursue a regular course financially. I opted to study at an ITI assuming that I will train and find a job soon. But, this prospect looks bleak now,” he said.
Siddaraju complains that the ITI lacks infrastructure and faculty. The Rs. 50 monthly stipend that the students are supposed to get is also “held back”. “The college gives pretexts such as us missing classes. They also told us they will take us on factory visits, which they have not done,” he said.
Those in private ITIs are also not content. Sachin Shetty from Mangaluru, who is training to be an electrician in a private ITI in Mysuru, is paying Rs. 25,000 for his two-year course.
“I belong to a farming family, and I could not afford to study in other regular courses. This college promises campus placements. I am banking on it as we do not even get a monthly stipend like government ITI students,” he said.
His grouse is with the semester system introduced in 2013-14. “They are giving us multiple-choice questions. But, where are we applying our skills by ticking options? The semester exams are easy, but of no use,” he said.
Unrest among ITI students in the State have constantly been spilling onto the streets in the form of protests. Umadevi M., State vice-president of the All India Democratic Youth Organisation, said nearly 1.6 lakh students, mostly from economically backward sections, were studying in ITIs.
“They want to get trained and somehow get placed somewhere. But, there is no infrastructure in the existing institutions. And, the government opened 100 more institutions in 2014. The Rs. 50 monthly stipend was fixed 40 years ago. Even this amount has not been giving regularly. In addition, the semester system forces them to write an exam once in six months when they are not even fully trained,” she said.
