For students taking the big leap from school to professional college, the real test comes after the entrance examination when they have to make the choice that will decide the course of their life. The words of experts in the field at the right time can do a world of good for them.
The 10th edition of the annual pre-counselling guidance programme organised by The Hindu-EducationPlus held at Hotel Calicut Tower here on Tuesday provided one such platform for nearly 400 professional course aspirants and their parents to clear their myriad doubts, and decide on their future course of action.
The message conveyed by most of the experts who made presentations on various aspects of professional courses was to make the right choice by weighing all the factors, including taste for the subject, quality of the college, the money to be shelled out, and future opportunities.
Course overview
Career guidance expert B.S. Warrier, who opened the presentations, gave an exhaustive overview of all the courses and a brief explanation of the content of each.
In an interactive session, he enlightened the students on the importance of having an aptitude for the course that they selected.
He asked them to make their own choices than be influenced by peer pressure or by the choice made by their parents.
In Tamil Nadu
A novelty of the programme this year was the segment on courses and colleges in Tamil Nadu, which was included considering the large number of students from Kerala who study in colleges there.
A. Jayaprakash Gandhi, education and career guidance expert from Tamil Nadu, gave the students a comprehensive idea of what awaited them across the border.
CAP
S. Santhosh, Joint Commissioner for Entrance Examinations, presented an exclusive session on the Centralised Allotment Process (CAP). He said the online process made it easier for the students, but it was also easy to make mistakes and hence, parents should guide them.
Kishan Kumar V.L. of Kengcyclopedia.com struck a realistic tone when he said that the engineering courses had lost their allure.
Factors
He gave an analysis of the reasons that people went in for professional courses, many a time with just a job in mind.
P.K. Sasikumar, Chief Manager, State Bank of India, Local Head Office, the presenting sponsor of the event, provided an overview of the various educational loans that could be availed.
Handbook
A handbook with information on aspects of the course-college selection process, professional courses on offer, engineering course and college selection, and scope of other domains was provided to each participant.
The associate sponsors of the programme are Hero MotoCorp and the Co-operative Academy for Professional Education. Asianet News is the TV partner.
T.N. Ravi Varma, Regional Manager (Advertising), The Hindu , Kozhikode, proposed the vote of thanks.
N. Balamurali, Assistant Regional General Manager (Circulation), The Hindu , Kozhikode, was present.
