Sadly, as SingAlong mentioned (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2412393), the hiring system in India is based on grades (except for big name companies like MS or Google, that, from what my friends say, are still unfortunately doing that 90's thing of asking stupid "why are manhole covers round" type puzzles. Warning: Anecdotal Evidence. (I seem to be typing this a lot lately, I guess I need to get off HN for a bit.)
But yeah, I agree - open source contribution is the best way of increasing programming proficiency.
Based on the description in the article, they need the manhole questions more than we do :D
Which is to say that since the Indian education system as described in the article doesn't teach problem solving, and since you want people who have some problem solving ability, you must ask them to solve a problem in the interview.
But, I find the article confusing, it is about how a call centre company is struggling to find people who can't think outside the box... why the heck does a call centre company want people who can think? Aren't they just going to follow the same script day in and day out?? Wouldn't the ability to think for yourself actually be a curse at a company like that???
I read it as them looking for people who can read, write, and converse in English. And that even with many technical graduates, they could only hire 3 out of every 100 that came into the office just to do those tasks.
Besides that, I know from living in the Philippines for six months that a call center job can be like striking gold for people who came up poor. Poverty here is so much different from poverty in the US that it's hard for Americans to understand the motivation of people here. A call center job may suck, but it could be the difference between life in a slum without basic sewerage, and eating at western chain restaurants while texting your friends on your new smart phone. What's basically a birthright in the US is highly prized here.
Very true about the Philippines. However, a crucial difference is that most educated Filipinos have very good English language skills compared to many other SE Asian countries I've been to.
