Beyond Engineering and Medical StreamsThere’s a world beyond medical and engineering streamsCAREER OPTIONSDR. DALEEP PARIMOOWhenever one interacts with the students of the valley who aspire to pursue Professional degrees after 10+2, majority of the students have only two streams in mind – Engineering and Medical. Though they are clear about thestreams, but in Engineering stream, the choice is restricted – only civil. It seems rather etched in their mind that choosing Civilengineering stream is the only way to get a job in Kashmir.I have been interacting with the students of Kashmir for the past five years. I find that majority of the students, more or less, have no idea about the choices available to them beyond just Engineering and Medical stream after 10+2. I have been talking to many scholars, counselors and other concerned people to counsel students and make them aware about the choices available to them after 10+2. However, nothing has been done in this direction. Promises are made, but no action is seen. Whenever I visit Srinagar in connection with counseling, I make it a point to explain to them the choices available beyond Medical and Civil Engineering streams.Why parents are not ready to think beyond these two streams?Engineering streams:Main contention of the parents is that after their ward completes Engineering in Civil stream, they will get Government job in J&K State – that too in Kashmir.Medical Stream:The contention is that after completion of MBBS, the students will either join hospitals based in Kashmir valley or they will start their own practice. Nothing wrong about this. However, as far as medical stream is concerned, majority of the students either feel cheated or are disappointed because they don’t get a medical seat – especially MBBS. The reason is tough competition and less number of seats available within the state – a meager 200.Students are left with very few options. Then they opt for Private Medical colleges outside J&K and overseas, that too in Bangladesh, Ukraine and more recently, China. The private medical education is costly in comparison to Bangladesh, Ukraine and China. Those who can afford, they either optfor private medical education within the country or go out of country to pursue MBBScourse, especially in Bangladesh and Central Asian countries. But there is a catch especially for those students who pursue Medical Education outside India. The degreesawarded by colleges outside India are valid only after the students clear MCI examination, which in majority of cases takesaround two year to clear. Thus there is further loss of two precious years for the students, which otherwise they could have invested in preparing for Masters or in practice, thus gaining valuable experience. Some of the parents of the students confessed that they realized late that they wasted valuable time of their wards by sending them for medical education outside India.Other option available to them is Bachelors inDental. However, many of the students don’t want to pursue this stream like the students in other parts of India.Now what are the alternatives and what are the options available to students in Kashmir other than Engineering and Medical stream.I would rather be happy if government is ableto create more seats for the students, but everyone knows how fast and how efficient government agencies work. It takes generations to execute any project.Before the situation gets worse for the students as we have more number of unemployed Civil Engineers and large number of aspirants for medical stream, parents need to look beyond these two streams. They have to realize that there is a world beyond these two streams. Students can pursue better career options where they can earn more and also contribute to economy and they need not to depend on only government jobs.Student and parent awareness programs are needed so that a correct picture can be put before them. Why I say parent awareness is because of the reason that parents play a very vital role in choosing career for their wards.Parents talk about sending their wards outside the state for engineering courses, especially in civil engineering, but they tend to forget a very important fact that not many positions are available in government sector. And not many of them will get government jobs.The issue is about the lack of awareness both at parental level as well as student level.Most of the students are not aware about other Government Medical colleges in India. They are not aware about some of the top Private medical colleges spread across India who don’t charge capitation fee. They don’t prefer to sit in All India Medical Examination. Choice is restricted only to their own state and some Central universities in India and colleges outside India, especially in Bangladesh, Ukraine and China.Who can play a positive role to change the mindset of the students and parents?Schools:It is the prime responsibility of the respective schools to conduct awareness programs for their students about the course options available to them after 10+2. Their responsibility does not end with students completing their 12th standard. The need of the hour is to conduct programs on continuous basis even for parents so that they are also aware about the options available for their children. More so, it is also the responsibility of the schools to guide students about the subjects they need to take up to pursue such coursesEducational counselors:Educational counselors have a role in spreading the awareness about the other courses available to students. They will in a way expand their reach in terms of providing educational guidance to students. They will have to also involve parents, schools and the institutions to spread the message that betteroptions are available beyond Engineering andMedical stream.Press:Press has a special role, especially when it comes to awareness program for parents. Since press has a wider reach, it can play a very vital role in shaping up the future of the students. Special guidance pullouts should be printed and made available to readers especially during admission time so that students can choose the best option. Parentsespecially need to be counseled about the career options available to their children after 10+2 so that they change their mindset.Press can also conduct special seminars on career guidance along with the schools and educational counselors on continuous basis. This approach needs to be followed for couple of years from now onwards so that there is complete awareness about the careeroptions.Many students have suffered because they did not know the options available to them. Let the future generation benefit from these programs. This will help also in engaging youth in meaningful activities.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Jun 2013 04:49:31 +0000
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