The education system followed in India is '10+2+3' or '10+2+4'. Under this system, there
is the ten years of basic education, two years of a pre-university course and finally the
undergraduate education which is of 3 years duration for the arts, pure sciences and commerce
and, 4 years for engineering.
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My schooling
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I went to a small school near my house for kindergarten. Later, I went to a much bigger
school called Sri Ramakrishna Vidyalaya about 5 or 6 km from my house where I studied till graduation from Standard 10. It is an excellent school (everyone says that about his school!) yet not very expensive. Being away from the city, it has a most peaceful atmosphere, ideal for education. I have the highest regard and respect for the teachers there; I think they are some of the best anywhere. Throughout my stay there they helped me in many, many ways and to a large extent influenced my personality so that school really was a home away from home. I had excellent relations with them and they with me just as with any other student of that school. I still remember the names of all the teachers who taught me all those years. I don't know how many of them will remember me if I meet them; it has been so many years and they would have taught many classes during this time. Games period was (naturally) the best loved by everyone. The school has a very huge campus and there were two full-sized soccer grounds, two volleyball and a basketball courts with still plenty of area of left. There were most certainly ups and downs, prizes won, scholarships, exam tensions, missed assignments and such but life was generally slow-paced and yet fun and productive. I nurture fond memories of this period and thoughts of the years spent there bring a tear or two in my eyes from nostalgic longing.
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Pre-university course
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This two year course is called Intermediate Education in my state or 'Inter' for short. I attended Loyola Academy 8-10 (?) km from my house. Intermediate education is a different ball game altogether. The amount of work required is a huge leap from that in school, syllabus is much bigger and the competition is tough. In short, the atmosphere is no more the cosy and caring one that one is used to in school. I had troubles adjusting to the new place. Eventually I got over them but till I did, it was one confusing, almost frightening period. By the second quarter of the first year, I started enjoying the place. I made many friends many of whom are also here in the U.S. The second year was particularly exciting. I had the most fun-filled period of my life during this time. Time flew fast and before I knew it we had all gone different ways; I landed in university. The next paragraph talks about that but those two years truly transformed me from a school-boy to an adult.
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Undergraduate education
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In my state, one has to take an examination for admission to engineering. A state-wide exam that goes by the acronymn EAMCET (Engineering and Medical Common Entrance Test), it is highly competitive. It is every Intermediate student's dread and dream to pass. It is almost a logical 'next step' after Intermediate, like it has to be done because it has to be done. Anyway, I passed the exam and entered university for a 4-year Bachelor's course in Mechanical Engineering attending
M.V.S.R Engineering College, Hyderabad
Osmania University
graduating in 1998. Undergrad days were fun - I learnt to drive a two-wheeler during this time. I travelled around city a lot if only because my house and the college were at practically two ends of the city. Exam days are memorable. We had two sets of exams called(by us)'internals'conducted by the college during a semester and a big final sem. exam by the university. Final exams were the tougher of the two. The morning of the exam was full of tension while the afternoon after the exam and the next day were a relief. We had 2-3 days break between exams. Two days before the next exam tension would creep in. I often went to my friend's house where others would also meet and we would put in combined .
study often staying over for the night. It goes without saying that I got to eat sumptuous and delicious meals lovingly prepared by that friend's mom. Breaks during study were frequent and consisted of a stroll, munching vegetable puffs at Unversal's or guzzling juice or devouring 'meetha paan' (betel leaf with sweet stuffing) in the gullies of Charminar. People of Hyderabad will be familiar with some of these. On the day of the exam, I would take a bus to a friend's place and go to college from there by bike or car. Relatively speaking, there was less care compared to Intermediate. Four years of fun, movies, cafes, labs, assignments and studies.. I wouldn't mind going back to those days
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As a graduate student...
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I am now doing my Master's in Mechanical Engineering
at Texas Tech University, Lubbock
Texas. For more on this, please follow the link on the left window.