Up until a few years ago, the course ‘Home Science’ was perceived by people as a course which teaches women cooking and home management. With only women’s colleges offering the course, the stereotype kept growing. But today, graduates and post graduates of Home Science have secured jobs in various industries including public health organisations both within the country and abroad.
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Home science is one of the older subjects which were prescribed for students along with philosophy, logic and the like. While the syllabus of philosophy has not changed much at all over the years, logic is hardly offered in any colleges at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The subject has become a paper in legal studies, experts say. With Home Science, from the 1960s, when the course was initially introduced to now, the curriculum has been revamped several times to suit the needs of the industrial world. However, not many are aware of the changes in the course.
Food and nutrition, nutrition and dietetics, fashion and apparel design (FAD), human development, interior design are some of the subjects that have been part of home science course for a long time now.
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In recent years, other papers like clinical nutrition and graphic design, extension in education, which are more relevant in today’s job market have also been introduced in home science colleges. “Food, nutrition and dietetics courses are highly in demand while FAD is also very popular. Some subjects like interior design might be a little connected with home making, but most people who pursue this course secure good jobs. Many of them get immediately absorbed at hospitals,” explained L. Gomathi Devi, Vice Chancellor, Maharani Cluster University. She added that even under the National Education Policy (NEP) many students are choosing Home Science as an open elective indicating good demand for the course.
Home Science students are now also employed by NGOs, Public Health organisations and other corporate companies. They also go on to pursue postgraduate studies in either Home Science itself or other allied subjects like Social Work to secure good jobs. “This course has now taken a different dimension. It is no more cooking and tailoring. It was a subject for homemakers in the yesteryears, but now it is a very entrepreneurial oriented paper. With the Skill India movement, there are a lot of opportunities for these students. They can be entrepreneurs or homepreneurs with a scientific edge,” said Sundaravalli, Head of Department, Home Science, Mount Carmel College.
She explained that with papers like Extension in Education, students can also work in CSR initiatives. Further, under the paper of resource management, students learn about time, financial and energy management. “They also learn ergonomics and certain areas of interior design management, conservation of resources and waste management, which are all very important now.” She added that while a student who studied the course went on to become one of the country’s top three registered dieticians, some others are working at the Indian Institute of Public Health (IIPH) and some at a University in UK on Public Health.
Battling the stereotype
Lecturers at various colleges agree that Home Science should be promoted as a professional course rather than its stereotypical image. They say that awareness should be created about the opportunities that the course provides. “We feel a little bad about the nomenclature as there is a still a taboo over it that the students who finish this course become homemakers,” Ms. Sundaravalli pointed out.