Why interest and aptitude of students must gain primacy while choosing courses after Class XII

June 08, 2019 11:33 pm | Updated June 09, 2019 11:33 am IST - KOZHIKODE

Three years ago, a Kolkata school posted on its Facebook page a letter addressed to parents ahead of the board exams. It aimed to ease the pressure on students ahead of exams. The media later found that the letter could also have been authored by a school principal in Singapore.

Here it is in case you missed it.

“ Dear Parent :

The exams of children are to start soon. I know you’ll are really anxious for your child to do well but please do remember, amongst the students who will take the exams is an artist who doesn’t need to understand math. There’s an entrepreneur who doesn't care about history or English literature. There’s a musician whose chemistry marks won’t matter.

There’s a sportsperson whose physical fitness is more important than physics. If your child does get top marks then great. But if he or she doesn’t then don’t take away their self-confidence from them. Tell them it’s ok, it’s just an exam. They are cut out for much bigger things in life. Tell them, no matter what they score you love them and will not judge them.

Please do this and if you do, watch your children conquer the world. One exam or a 90% won’t take away their dreams and talent.”

Now that the Class XII results are out and thousands are eager to pursue higher studies, the message is relevant. The question parents in the State often fail to address: What is your child’s dream?

CBSE handbook

Already the CBSE has released a handbook ( http://cbse.nic.in/ newsite/attach/ Compendium%20of% 20Courses% 20after% 20+2.pdf ) on the options, including new-age courses, available after Class XII. These include courses in forensic investigation to corporate intelligence to acturial sciences to oceanography to museology to archaeology to anthropology to visual communication.

The results of some of the competitive exams such as the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for students who wish to study undergraduate and postgraduate medical courses and dental courses and JEE (Main) for admissions to NITs and other premier engineering institutes have been published. Others such as JEE (Advanced) for admissions to IITs are awaited.

Yet many parents in Kerala are still stuck in a world confined only to engineering and medical courses. “While choosing courses after Class XII, priority should be given to the interest and aptitude of students. In many cases, student will have to yield to parental and societal pressures which may de-motivate them. This, in turn, will make students unemployable even if they manage to get a pass somehow,” K.A. Abdul Nazeer, chairman, undergraduate admissions, NIT-C, says.

Also, when passion beckons, can a student ignore the call? Students discontinuing a course midway or later switching careers is not uncommon these days.

T.K. Suresh Babu, Professor at School of Management Studies, who was head of the NIT-C training and placement cell for more than 12 years, says teachers right from Class V should motivate students on multiple opportunities available to them after school.

“Parental advice can sometimes be dangerous. Of late, engineering courses have become redundant for them. Suddenly, the centre of interest is banking and accountancy depending on career options,” Dr. Babu says.

Campus recruiters, he says, feel that only a small percentage of B.Tech graduates in India are employable. Certainly students at IITs , NITs, IISc and IISERs are considered to be fortunate enough. Companies require students who can apply the concepts.

At the same time, a study by Analytics Special Interest Group, set up by NASSCOM, says there will a shortage of two lakh data scientists in India over the next few years. Data analytics, a highly multi-disciplinary subject, offers tremendous job opportunities in different sectors.

Pure science gains

However, with wider options and attractive scholarships, pure science is making a comeback in a big way. On the top, certainly is the four-year B.S (Research) programme at the premier Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru.

Six major disciplines are offered. Biology, chemistry, earth and environmental science, materials science, mathematics, and physics. Students who complete all requirements for the award of the bachelor of science (research) degree have the option of getting a master of science degree by studying at the institute for a fifth year.

Anusmita Biswas, a State topper from Kozhikode in the CBSE exams, has joined the IISc, via the Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana Examination. This despite, she being the topper among girls in the JEE Main exam scoring 99.91 percentile.

Students can also pursue the BS- MS dual degree programme at the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER) under the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development. The programme consists of core courses in basic sciences and specialisation in chosen subjects along with an MS research project.

Nevertheless technological advancement is changing the labour market. It eliminates some jobs but creates many – that is why nano robots will perform surgeries and artificial organs will be produced in laboratories in future. Let children live their dreams.

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