Bangalore students look beyond engineering and medicine

Thought that students look at only engineering and medicine as prospective courses? Time to rethink!

For example, Himami Galagali, student of Sardar Patel PU College in Basaveshwar Nagar and who secured the fourth rank in the medical CET this year, rejected the MBBS seat offered to her saying she wants to pursue higher education in pure science and will join the new four-year Bachelor of Science (BS) course at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc).

She had earlier turned down a place in the Indian Institutes of Technology as well.

In the AIEEE, she stood sixth in the state. Well, that's just one example. Students in Bangalore have already started looking beyond the professional streams realising the extent of opportunities lying untapped in others sectors.

Especially now, when there are a huge number of new and emerging Arts streams that are gaining popularity… Environmental Science, Biotechnology, Nutrition and Dietetics, Interior Design and Management, Clinical Nutrition, Dietetics and Human Development to name a few.

This apart, the demand for commerce and management courses like BCom, BBM and MBA is also on the rise.

“They are evergreen course and the options available are aplenty. The demand for these courses is constantly on the rise,” said BT Venkatesh, principal of Jain College, Jayanagar.

Students who pursue science and humanities courses too have a variety of options, he added. “Because a phenomenally huge number of students opt for professional courses, the demand for engineers will drastically come down in the near future, if not now.

It’s just the herd mentality that's being followed and it's just a phase, where everyone is going in for engineering,” he said, pointing out at the IT industry, which had a dramatic rise and fall.

In my opinion, the future is for those who take up pure science courses. “Because their demand is not being met,” he said.

“Humanities courses have turned vocational and students taking up these courses create a niche for themselves. Many of the humanities courses have a vocational bend, and the job market has numerous opportunities for them.

In fact, particularly in rural areas, the numbers opting for bachelor's courses in arts is considerably high,” Venkatesh added. Vasantha Adivarekar, placement officer at Mount Carmel College, echoed similar views.

“Besides commerce and management, for which the demand is huge, the number of students choosing BSc and BA courses is dwindling with each passing year. It's because students find it hard to get a job after their course.

The syllabus needs to be re-structured so that they cater to the needs of the job market, and it is probably the only way to attract takers,” said Venugopal, principal, Government RC College of Commerce and Management.

Even parents today often marvel at the number of career opportunities available for the younger generation and sometimes worry about whether a particular track is the right choice for their wards.

Where once engineering, medicine and even IT industries were a safe bet, today's scenario is much more dynamic and is continuously undergoing change.

With the changing demands of various industries, the number and variety of courses have also undergone changes.

One of the areas that have seen an overwhelming surge in student interest is the media industry.

Professor John Thomas said, “Careers in media, particularly journalism, are hugely popular because of the social recognition, if not the glamour quotient the individuals are thought to enjoy. Public relations are the closest to journalism and advertising the next in line considering the level of creativity involved in the industry.”

“Management is the fastest growing of these, because corporates and official bodies now believe in making a public show of what they want to communicate,” he added.

After the advent of globalisation, management courses have seen a huge rise in demand. Since private participation was encouraged in almost all the sectors, MBA colleges have increased by manifolds.

Due to the increase in demand of management professional in the corporate sector in India and abroad, the demand for management studies has increased as a fallout.

The Master of Business Administration, one of the professional educations offered in the country, is the best-known management qualification throughout the world.

Indian firms are also in dire needs of skilled business management experts those who can contribute to development of the company from the very start of their joining the organisation.