Data entry and call centres are active at campus placements. Mostly students with engineering background are getting placed in these types of jobs, leaving people wonder if colleges have tie ups with these companies or whether students are badly in need of jobs immediately after studies.

“We received the placement certificates on stage from our college. They say that you just start working in this field and then look out for other job which matches your educational qualifications. We don’t like working in this area. In our class and batch there are many who are placed in BPOs,” a set of students working in a data entry firm here told The Covai Post.

Many colleges have their placement cells trying hard to get their students good jobs. An official of a leading engineering college said, “We try to get the students a decent job with a good package. But not all students are suited for an engineering job. So, to provide them a chance, we get them placed in call centers or BPOs. But then the choice is theirs.”

Neither the Central Government nor those in States, bothers to create jobs, says educationist SS Rajagopalan. “Underemployment is as dangerous as unemployment… As most students come from families which expect support, they accept whatever job is available, whatever the salary be. This will lead to frustration. We come across young graduates who get into waylaying and chain snatching,” he said.

According to officials in engineering colleges, they initially try to get their students placed in suitable jobs. But students say that placement is just a namesake activity and only BPO or call centres are invited to campus recruitment, much against what was promised at the time of admission.

“Once in the field of data entry or call centre, it’s really hard to get out. The experience we get is not valid for other jobs. And once we work for them we are no longer freshers. I am stuck here for almost two and half years now. Salary depends on the rate of job done,” says Aneesh J, a data entry employee.

In a class of 40 to 60, 10 to 15 students get job in either BPOs or call centres. Even after interview procedures, the selected will have to face another round of test. “In our class, there were 63 students. The companies that came to our college for campus interview were either BPOs or call centers. The college brouchre says 100 per cent placement assistance for students. And now, 15 of us are in BPOs and many without a job”, says Najeeb A.