With humanities, especially social sciences taking the backseat in the mad rush for professional courses post-globalisation, attempts are on to woo students to taking up social sciences as a discipline.
One such attempt is the Social Science Talent Search Scheme (SSTSS), conceptualised by the Institute of Social and Economic Changes (ISEC), Bangalore University, the State Knowledge Commission and the Department of Pre-University Education jointly, to attract talented youth to social sciences.
Applications have been invited from students under the scheme for appearing in the examination to be held on May 27. Students studying in the second year of Pre-University course from Bangalore Rural and Urban, Ramanagaram, Kolar and Chickaballapur can take the this examination. Applications are available on the ISEC website, www.isec.ac.in.
Students can download applications and send them with a postal order of Rs. 100 drawn in the name of Registrar, to ISAC, Dr. V.K.R.V. Rao Road, Nagarbhavi, Bangalore 560072. The last date for sending applications is May 5.
Those who qualify in the examination will receive Rs. 500 monthly scholarship for 10 months and this will continue for three years till they complete graduation (Bachelor of Arts). Likewise, the State Knowledge Commission will offer Rs. 2,500 per annum as its share of scholarships to them.
Disclosing this to presspersons here on Thursday, Director of ISAC R.S. Dehspande said that to begin with it had been decided to confine SSTSS only to colleges in Bangalore division and extend scholarship to attract young and talented minds to the social science stream by promoting their interest in basic social sciences.
Last year, students from 800 colleges in the Bangalore division took the examination held in February 2011.
Over 25 students qualified and 16 of them joined degree courses in social sciences in various colleges under Bangalore University, he said.
An orientation programme was arranged for students to further guide and enlighten those who joined BA courses in various colleges for the academic year 2011-12.
A cross-section of academics provided them training.
About the employability of students who complete the course, he said that there was a demand for industrial sociology and application of demand costing.
K.G. Gayathri Devi of ISEC and H.K. Moulesh, Co-coordinator SSTSS, were present.
