NITK graduate will pedal to promote skill-based education

MANGALURU: It took several years for this engineering graduate from NIT-K, Surathkal to chase his dream of becoming a photographer rather than go with a career that his parents wanted for him.
To create awareness of the importance of choosing a career based on one's interest, he is all set to embark on a 100-day bicycle expedition across the country, tentatively from November 11 from Bengaluru.
Ram IAS of Hyderabad is a metallurgy engineering graduate and a documentary photographer. "I'll be interacting with students, sharing with them my story on how I made it as a photographer during my tour. I want to make them understand the importance of choosing a career based on his or her interest," he told TOI.
Ram will travel from Bengaluru to Delhi via Mysuru, Mangaluru, Udupi, Goa, Pune, Mumbai, Kota and Jaipur. "At the end of my journey, I want to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and submit a memorandum to start a campaign that stresses skill-based education rather than one that helps get a job," he added.
Just out of college, Ram is looking for sponsors for the journey. "I have Rs 30,000 in my account and I need Rs 50,000 for the entire expedition. I'll work for three months and then start my expedition if I don't get the monetary support," he added. Ram says two photography projects -- at Kota and at Hyderabad -- changed his perception about a career.
"In Kota, I understood that most students are from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and all of them came from middle class or lower middle class families. Their only aspiration was to get into a good engineering college and get good marks. But they didn't have any idea what they wanted do with their engineering degrees. In my survey, I found that many could not write simple sentences in English, but were able to solve any problem related to entrance exams."
"What I understood from these two projects is that most students don't know what to do with their engineering degree or they are not aware of other opportunities," he added.
Society decides what students should study according to the marks they obtain and not their interests. If you score more than 90 percent you should study maths; if you scored between 70 to 90, you should do science and all those left out end up taking Arts, he said.
Ram said even though he joined an engineering course; his interest was always reaching out to people and knowing their stories. "So I have been travelling for the past four years to understand people and their culture. I believe photography is the best medium to reach out to people."
"And then began my crazy journey when I was in the second year of engineering, I planned to travel all over India in 64 days, with a mission, with minimal resources, where I have to communicate with people and build relationships. I planned not to spend a single rupee for food and shelter. And I was able to manage for 17 days in eight states. Sleeping at railway stations and rural panchayat offices, waiting for hours in temples, attending unknown marriage ceremonies in a village for a single meal," he said.