Before You Send Your Child to ABES Engineering College, Read This

TL;DR

I’m a current student at ABES Engineering College (AKTU-affiliated, Ghaziabad). Over the last semester I’ve watched friends get detained from exams over small attendance shortages, sit through 9 AM–9 PM combined offline + online schedules, and report a hostel warden caught stealing belongings — with no real response. If you are a parent considering this college, please read the attendance policy and grievance process before enrollment.

Dear Parents,

Your child will not tell you most of what I’m about to write. Not because they don’t want to — but because by the time they realise, the fees are paid, the year is half over, and the only option left is to keep their head down and finish.

I’m writing this so you can ask the right questions before that point.

1. The attendance trap

At ABES Engineering College — like many colleges under AKTU (Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University) — students can be detained from their semester exams over a small attendance shortage. We are not talking about chronic absenteeism. A few missed classes, a medical week, a family emergency — and a student can lose an entire semester.

I personally know a student with serious documented medical issues who is still being pressured into remedial classes. The policy is applied mechanically, not humanely.

What to ask the college before enrolling:

• What is the exact minimum attendance percentage?
• What is the medical-leave policy, in writing?
• What is the appeal process if a student is detained?

2. The 9-to-9 schedule

A typical weekday for many students here:

• 8:50 AM — 4:30 PM — offline classes
• 6:00 PM — 9:00 PM — additional online classes
• 20–30 pages of handwritten assignments to be copied in every class

That’s a 12+ hour academic day, with assignments that test stamina rather than understanding. Students preparing for placements, internships, or actual skill-building have almost no time left. Several of my batchmates have openly said: “I’m doing 9-to-9 classes to qualify for a 9-to-5 job.”

3. Safety inside the hostel

This is the part that should worry every parent the most.

In May 2026, an ABES hostel warden was caught stealing students’ belongings. Students who reported missing items earlier had been ignored. Even after the incident, the institutional response has been slow and defensive.

What to ask before paying hostel fees:

• Who supervises the warden, and what is the complaint chain?
• Is there CCTV in common areas? Who reviews the footage?
• How are theft and harassment complaints documented?

4. “Support” — in name only

A good college supports students through:

• Mental health counselling (real, confidential, free)
• Academic flexibility for genuine medical or family issues
• A grievance redressal cell that actually responds
• Career services that go beyond a placement-day photo op

In my experience at ABES, these exist mostly on paper. The default institutional response to a struggling student is more attendance pressure, not more support.

5. This is bigger than one college

I want to be fair: this is not only an ABES problem. It is a pattern across many tier-3 AKTU colleges in Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, and across UP. The attendance policy is university-wide. The 9-to-5 culture is industry-wide. The lack of grievance support is systemic.

But systems change only when parents start asking hard questions at the admission desk — not after the first semester result is out.

What I’m asking parents to do

1. Visit the campus on a normal weekday, not on counselling day. Talk to 2nd- and 3rd-year students, not the marketing team.
2. Get the attendance, medical-leave, and grievance policies in writing before paying any fee.
3. Ask about hostel safety protocols — and ask current hostellers, not the warden.
4. Check actual placement records (not “highest package” — median package and placement percentage).
5. If your child is already enrolled and struggling, believe them the first time.

Closing

I’m posting this under my real name and risking whatever consequences come with it, because silence has a cost too — and that cost is being paid right now by students who feel trapped.

If this article helps even one family ask one more question before signing the admission form, it was worth writing.

— Anand

Student, ABES Engineering College

Original X post: x.com/AnandVashisht15/status/2048623291628392505