Ever since the idiotic University of Calicut unceremoniously sent me my degree by registered post, I've been looking forward to a proper convocation ceremony at least for the later degrees in life. Last weekend, I flew down to Hyderabad with my parents, got my degree in a nice, simple ceremony. Sure, it didn't have the pomp and grandeur of the QF graduation (QF might have actually spent more money on that night than the entire budget of IIIT for the year), but it was nice nonetheless. A nice touch was that we graduated in desi style, sans cap-and-gown, but with kurta pyjama :)
The picture above is really special because of how all of us are smiling, just so happy, behind those smiles were literally hours and hours of hard work and late nights at our lab, CVIT. Of course there was the occasional goofing off as well, late night movies on the big screen, card games or Facebook games challenges.
But to the issue at hand (there's always a philosophical standpoint or issue that I need to address in every blog post innit?). Last weekend made me realize what my college life in Kerala was. It was a big mess, but it said so much about how education was treated there. The "value" of a degree and the educational experience was denigrated so much, college turned into some sort of conscription that everyone's expected to attend, whether they like it or not. How do you expect students to learn, enjoy learning when the degrees are treated as only a means to an end? When I finished my bachelors back in college, there was no ceremony, no acknowledgment from the college, just a "when are you guys leaving and vacating the hostel" look.
It's sad to see what education has turned into in the "most educated" state in India.
