V.L.S. Kumar, dentist and a member of the South Asia Disaster Response Team of The International Red Cross, on Saturday called upon the students to choose a course they want to pursue after the second Pre-University Course by scientifically assessing their aptitude and skills.
Mr. Kumar was speaking after inaugurating the annual career guidance and counselling programme organised by The Hindu Education Plus at the DVS Rangamandir here.
Remuneration should not be the sole parameter for opting for a course or career. There were instances of students getting joining professional courses like medicine and engineering owing to parental pressure and later losing motivation to complete it. Students should remember that they could contribute a lot to the society even by pursuing courses in basic sciences, humanities and commerce. Students should make the choice of the course only after assessing employment opportunities available in government and corporate sectors. Apart from the monetary benefits, social recognition that the job would provide them with was equally important. There was an urgent need to change the perspective that the Indians had towards education. The primary objective of education was comprehensive personality development. However, it was unfortunate that it was presently being looked at as a means to secure a rewarding job. The lacunae in the education system should be blamed for the poor political leadership and the confusions in policy-making, which, in turn, had given rise to problems like corruption, poverty and unemployment. Talented youths should opt for a career in civil services, which would provide an excellent opportunity to bring about a positive transformation in society, he said.
Addressing the gathering, Srinivas Rao Kunte, principal of the Jawaharlal Nehru National College of Engineering, said the students should inculcate soft skills. Although employment opportunities had come down for those pursuing engineering courses owing to economic recession, students with bright academic credentials could still get good jobs.
Along with their academic qualifications, students should develop good communication skills and leadership qualities, he said.
Academician Shoaib Valai spoke on the emerging trends in education and the employment scenario. Mohammed Arif, a professor at the Shivamogga Institute of Medical Sciences, and Nagarajappa, Nodal Officer of the CET cell were present.
The gold sponsors for the event are AMC - CITY Institutions, Bengaluru; Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology, Bengaluru; Dr. T. Thimmaiah Institute of Technology, K.G.F.; Rajarajeswari Group of Institutions (Medical, Dental and Engineering), Bengaluru; and Sri Sairam College of Engineering, Bengaluru. The silver sponsors are Padmashree Group of Institutions, Bengaluru; Sambhram Institutions, Bengaluru; Shri Pillappa College of Engineering, Bengaluru, and Beary’s Institute of Technology, Mangaluru. The venue for the programme had been sponsored by the DVS Samsthe.
Students of basic science, humanities too can contribute a lot to society: Kumar
‘Apart from excelling in the course of their choice, students should develop soft skills’
