Education Guide

I am a science graduate with degrees in computers and management. By profession I am a technical writer. At times when I look behind, I feel that my journey to the right career has not been easy.

As a student these are some of the questions I was always unclear about:

• What subjects should I study?
• What professional course I should opt for?
• What are the various career options?

I feel these are the current dilemmas of many students in India. A diverging fact is that in our country around 6 crores children are out of school, and many who go to school are confused and unsatisfied. Right from school to college students are not sure what subjects and courses to enrol in. In big cities there are career counsellors and other educationist who aim to help students. But how successful these efforts are and how satisfied today’s youth is a question to ponder on!

The Constitution of India advocates free and compulsory education of children below the age of 14. So why is more than half the population in India illiterate? Is ignorance really a bliss or is it the limitations of our resources?

I was going through a recent survey conducted in five states of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and Rajasthan on basic education system in India (Public Report on Basic Education). The report points that parents are willing to send their children to school. So what is holding them back?

Life in India or in that case in any part of the world is easy if you have resources (money and infrastructure). Moreover, social and economic factors slows you down. While driving back home you must have seen children selling books or flowers. Estimates cite figures of between 60 and 110 million working children in India. Child labor is a source of income for poor families. Is it poverty responsible for child labor or is it the inadequacy of school system in India?

One solution I can think of this moment is the realization that we all can contribute in some way or the other. A small step taken by us can make a big difference. You can contribute by:

• Volunteering or donating money to NGOs for child education.
• Opening a library or donating books to your city library.
• Promoting the concept of earn and learn.
• Providing vocational or job oriented education.
• Educating atleast one child during your life.

With changing nature of learning in India there are many questions that come into a student’s mind.

• What career should I pursue to be successful?
• What is engineering?
• What is the scope of medicine as a professional career?
• Whether I should opt for computers, law, or management?
• What are vocational and diploma courses?
• What is government cadre A,B, C, D?

My blog aims at linking education and career. My blog will act as a career guide to industries by providing information on professional courses, competitive exams, vocational and non-formal education, career options in government and private sector, etc. I also encourage inputs, queries and suggestions from readers of my blog. You can mail me at richasmita@google.com.

Are you puzzled about your future?

Case 1:
Riya opted for both Maths and Biology after class X because she wanted to be eligible for both medical and engineering entrance exams. Medicine and engineering are two different fields and require thorough planning to clear the entrance exams. She is now a dentist and remembers the dilemmas she faced earlier.

Case2:
After completing his MCA Raj joined XYZ firm as a pogrammer. He only worked in this field for a year, because he realized he was more interested in interacting with people than working at his desk alone. He got a new job in software support which was a better match for his interest and skill.

In order to have a satisfied and successful career it is important that we have a proactive career approach. These are some questions you should put to yourself:

• What subjects you should major in?
• What do you really want to be?
• How to gather indepth knowledge of various career options?
• What are skills and experience required to get into that field?
• How to understand the demands, responsibilities, and objectives of the career option?
• What are your competencies, strengths, and weaknesses?

It is important to understand yourself and then take steps to plan and act. These are some suggestions:

• Analyze your current situation and available resources.
• Try to match your skills and interest.
• Prepare startegies to move your career in the right direction.
• Take help of career counselor, talk to people in the industry, and read career guides.
• Learning by doing is a valuable way to research possible career paths - look for summer jobs or project assignments.
• Gather information to evaluate your options and make the right decision.

Schooling in India is an expensive proposition. There are various boards that conduct exams (Xth and XIIth) in India:

CBSE Board

CISCE/ICSE Board

State Boards of India

Now you must be wondering which board is better? Varying level of evaluation between state and central boards makes it difficult to assess which board to opt for. In each state majority of states are affiliated to the state board while a few are affiliated to CBSE and ICSE board. However, best schools in India are affiliated to ICSE– Welhams, Doon, Mayo, CJM, etc. Some students may find ICSE board difficult. CBSE system provides uniform learning across India and is suitable for children of employees with transferable jobs. Some students also hold the opinion that entrance exams like engineering and medical are more closely modeled on CBSE syllabus.

Major concerns that are related to schooling and examination system in India can be sumarized as:

• There is thin line between what is taught and what is learnt. A change from mugging to applying is required.
• The percentage scored determines student’s admission to a university or employment. There should be inclusion of other means of evaluation based on extra curricular activities.
• A recent World Bank survey found that 25% of government primary school teachers in India are absent from work. There should be strict enforcement of teacher-student ratio of 1:40 and the attendance of teachers along with students.
• Schools books seem to teach everything. There is a need for a general reassessment of curriculum of textbooks keeping the student’s requirement and applicability in mind. It involves decentralization of curriculum design involving more teachers and educationist.

Innovations in information and technology can make education and learning accessible and interesting. This fact is supported by the recent step taken by 200 government schools in Delhi who used animated character Pokemon to teach lessons to primary class children. In Andhra Pradesh’s East Godavari district, children from 170 deprived families call a boat their school. This is a brilliant example of teaching children close to their parents and the environment they can relate to.

Another major step, “India’s Curriculum of Tomorrow” promoted by Jiva Education publisher based in Faridabad is an enterprising step in constructive learning. The new curriculum is designed to bring about a fundamental change in traditional and obsolete syllabi.

Internet services provided by n-Logue in Indian villages is another commendable step in imparting learning. With the help of n-Logue local service providers recruits local entrepreneurs to open kiosks in small cities and rural areas.

These innovative measures have to deal with social and cultural challenges as well as slow creative development in India. Teaching, schooling, and learning are generally rigid and change resistant systems. There is also a lack of infrastructure and finance. Let’s imagine a condition where all students go to school, the school building will explode.

In spite of all the odds, Internet technology and e-learning can help to bring innovation in learning by making learning more user friendly. A teacher residing in any part of the world can teach hundreds of students through virtual classrooms. Students have high quality study material that they can refer to any number of times at their own pace. Teachers are also left with more time to interact with students.

Is mathematics and science your favorite subjects? Are you wondering whether to opt for engineering or medicine as your career options? Discuss with career counselors or teachers in your school who can guide you or simply map your liking and aptitude to make a decision. I’ll provide brief information on the two fields. Let’s begin with engineering.

Engineering is the application of mathematics and science to commerce or industry. A study by Duke University in North Carolina suggests that U.S. colleges produce roughly 750 engineers per million citizens, compared with 500 in China and 200 in India. To remain competitive in the global market there is a wide scope for engineers.

Who should opt for engineering?
Engineering courses are suitable for students with interest and excellent background in mathematics, physics, and chemistry.

What are the various streams in engineering?
You can opt for any of these streams of engineering:

• Aeronautical and aerospace Agriculture
• Automobile
• Computer
• Civil
• Chemical
• Electrical
• Industrial
• Manufacturing
• Marine
• Mechanical
• Metallurgical
• Mining
• Textile

How to take admission to engineering?
The engineering entrance exam is conducted on all India or State level. You can apply at either undergraduate (BE/BTech) or postgraduate level (ME/MTech). You can refer to previous IIT papers to check your aptitude. You can opt for engineering entrance examinations including AIEEE, IIT-JEE and GATE.

It is important that you should be regular in your studies. Solve as many test papers as you can before the exam. Time management is the most important factor. No one can solve the entire paper in the prescribed time. So practice, practice, and practice. Some books that are recommended for engineering are ResnickHallidayWalker, NCERT, Mathematics by RD Sharma and ML Khanna.

Do you want to be a doctor and serve sick and needy people? What you require are good grades all through school. You should start preparing for medical entrance exams by class IXth. There are postal as well as dedicated coaching offered by premier institutes including Brilliants, Akash Institute and Sachdeva.

There are many kinds of doctors. You should also decide whether you want to be a family and general practitioner or you want to be a specialist. General practitioners treat common problems while experts treat specific problems. For example, Pediatricians are experts who care for children and babies. Heart surgeons operate and heal heart diseases.

Who should opt for medicine?
Medicine is a suitable filed for students with interest and excellent background in biology, physics, and chemistry.

How to take admission in medical colleges?
Entrance examinations to Medical colleges are conducted on an All India basis as well as state wise basis. Apart from this, some national level institutions also conduct their own entrance tests.

The Central Board of Secondary Examination, Delhi conducts an All India Pre-Medical/Pre-Dental Entrance Exam to select the candidates at an all India level (except in the states of Jammu & Kashmir and Andhra Pradesh ) for admission to roughly 15% of the total seats in the colleges of each state. Andhra Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir do not admit students from other states.

Case 1: My parents want me to be a doctor or an engineer. But I can never relate to Science or Mathematics. I am not sure what other options I have?

Case 2: I have a bent for art and creativity. I want to pursue a career that can relate to my interests.

Does your thoughts match the cases cited above? There are many new options available after 12th other than traditional options like Engineering and Medical. You can enter into a variety of field such as:

• Law
• Journalism
• Public relations
• Nursing
• Advertising
• Fashion
• Management
• Modeling
• Travel and tourism
• Hotel management
• Call centers
• CS/CA/ICWA
• Academics/Research
• Civil services
• Defense/Paramilitary forces

I’ll discuss each of these options in detail in my future posts. You can match your interests and expectations. Once you enter the field of your choice, trust me sky is the limit. If you are not careful in making the right choice you may spend your life cribbing or complaining about your professional life. So make and early start and plan your career.

Traditionally, law is a noble profession. Many students aspire to practice law and provide justice to the society. With globalization, law is not just restricted to practicing in a court. New areas of interests like copyrights, trademarks, intellectual property, cyber law is fast gaining impetus. Now, the real question is how to go about it.

Eligibility
You can pursue law after graduation (3 years) or after 12th (5 years) leading to BA LLB (Hons).

Colleges
Some of the best law colleges in India are:

• National Law School of India University, Bangalore
• Symbiosis Law College, Pune
• Government Law College, Mumbai

Specializations

You can specialize in:

• Civil Law: Concerns private rights of individuals, handling damage suits, breach of contract suits, wills, mortgages
• Tax Law: Deals with income tax, real tax, franchises, problems of inheritance
• Criminal Law: Deals with interviewing clients, conducting trials, preparing a case for defence, examining, cross examining in court
• Corporation Law: Deals with advising corporations on their legal rights, obligations, privileges, studying statutes, constitutions and ordinances
• International Law: Specializes on international treaties, customs and traditions
• Labor Law: Deals with workers, their associations, working conditions, workers’ rights and duties
• Real Estate Law: Covers conveyance of property, search records and deeds to establish titles of property, acting as trustee for property
• Patent Law: Focuses on securing patents for inventors from the patent’s office

Private practice immediately after graduation is difficult, unless you have a family firm. There are law firms that employ fresh graduates as apprentices or assistants. After two years of articleship, the apprentice appears for an examination of articled clerk conducted by the Law Society. It generally takes several years under an advocate or solicitor before you are ready for your own practice.

There are also plenty of opportunities in private industry. There is also the possibility of becoming legal consultants (part time or full time) for companies. Opportunities are aplenty in government service. You have to qualify the Law Service Commission or State Public Service Commission.

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