All new officer-recruits to the Indian Navy would be engineers with BTech degrees from 2010, according to a proposal approved by the three service chiefs and awaiting government clearance.
Proposal approved by three service chiefs awaits govt clearanceNEW DELHI: All new officer-recruits to the Indian Navy would be engineers with BTech degrees from 2010, according to a proposal approved by the three service chiefs and awaiting government clearance.
The decision also means Navy cadets at the National Defence Academy (NDA) in Pune will leave the academy after two years, while Army and Air Force cadets will stay back to complete three years and get their undergraduate degrees.
Presently, cadets from all three services spend three years together before proceeding for further training with their respective institutions. If the government goes by practice, it would approve the recommendation of the chiefs of staff committee, where the chiefs of Army, Navy and Air Force are members.
But there are serious concerns in the Navy about the decision. “Seamanship is not about engineering. We need to create future military leaders, not a bunch of engineers,” said a senior Navy officer. Another officer said the quality of BTech students would be “pathetic” because of the kind of teachers available.
The Air Force and Army are also concerned about how the NDA would rise to the challenge when it is facing an acute shortage of civilian teaching staff. Of the 120 civilian academic staff required by the NDA, only 58 are on rolls, with 62 positions vacant.
The chiefs of staff committee meeting a few weeks ago saw a serious debate between the Navy on one side and the other two services on the other. It ended with the Navy assuring to send its service officers to teach BTech to its cadets at the NDA.
As of now, the Navy doesn’t have enough academically-qualified staff to teach BTech, but may send some of its officers to do MTech and doctorates in engineering. The decision would alter the NDA’s joint-manship forever. Navy cadets would leave after two years, and complete the remaining two years of BTech at the naval academy at Ezhimala in northern Kerala. Presently, all officers coming out of the naval academy are bachelors of science.
j_josy@dnaindia.net 
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