Students stare at uncertain future as companies put campus placements on hold in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Colleges in the city are facing a difficult time after several companies put the campus recruitments on hold as pandemic has affected the businesses worldwide.

Due to the extended lockdown, some companies are delaying the process. Some have even revoked the offers altogether.

However, there are some companies that have decided to honour their commitments. Mostly, large technology companies are honouring the offers. However, the mid-level firms are dragging their feet.

“I got placed in one of the IT Company in February and was supposed to join in June right after the course completion. Then the lockdown happened and I didn’t get any offer letter from the company. Even I got registered for the training programme and logged in the system with the ID provided by them. Most of the students opt for technical courses in order to get placed, I am looking for some other option now,” said Tapaj Kumar Das, MCA Final Year student from the University of Hyderabad.

Many students joined companies as interns for the probation period. After completing the probation period, they were not given any confirmation letter.

“In February I started as an intern. Despite serving the company for around 5 months, I did not get a confirmation letter. I am staring at an uncertain future,” said Naveen, final year student from CMR Engineering College

Meanwhile, some of the companies have asked the students not to lose heart and wait for some time. They have not revoked the letter but are waiting for a conducive situation.

“Last year, 382 students got placed. This year so far 244 students have got placements. Many companies are revoking the offer. Most of these companies are in the education sector or have a B2B business,” said Prerna Akhouri, Placement Coordinator, University of Hyderabad.

The companies are asking students to produce certificates before joining the company. On the other side, the students are not in favour of exams.

“I got placed before lockdown. But they are asking for the certificate. Many students in my class have already started the job. If the university announces that there will not be any exam, at least we can join on the basis of previous semester results,” said Sukasini, final year student from EFLU, Hyderabad.

Tariq Sheikh, placement coordinator EFLU, Hyderabad, said they are looking at options to conduct the exams. “We had placements before the pandemic. Our college is not open. We are looking at various options to conduct the exams. Maybe it will be easy for them to get placed,” he said.

University Grant Commission has asked the universities to conduct the final year exams. Telangana state government has also decided to conduct the exams by September.