"Mania for professional courses"The prospect of getting an admission in an engineering or medical college for their offspring after standard XII, is exciting for the parents as they seem to have a notion that these are the only professional courses which have status symbol. Even educated persons are misguided and fall into the trap of this professional offspring mania. Many feel that their children will ensure a prosperous future and a super dignity in the society, combined with a sell sale value in the matrimonial market if they enter a professional college and hence willingly spend any amount to make their children doctors or engineers.(Nationalized, scheduled and new generation banks are there to extend loans) This belief has led to a prolific increase in the number of self-financed professional colleges whereas more than 50 per cent of them provide sub-standard education and produce under-qualified professionals. What the parents fail to realize is that unless their wards have a real aptitude for the chosen course they can never become successful doctors or engineers. The society also needs other professionals like writers, journalists, artists, dancers, actors, singers etc. Some of the doctors and engineers have given up their profession to become artists, film actors, playback singers, civil service personnel etc. This proves that not only they have the aptitude to become doctors/engineers but also prevented the ones with the aptitude for the professions from becoming real professionals.
Parents should not compel their children to study only professional courses as there are many other different opportunities. They should give freedom to them to choose a course of study of their choice. Irrespective of whether a student has a flair for any professional course, there is a craze which is performed much like a ritualistic step to put him/her in a coaching centre and cough up thousands of rupees. In most cases even parents are insensitive to their child's capabilities and thrust these courses on them. Also, there is an imbalance in the number of professionals coming out of these institutions each year vis-a-vis the industrial intake.
Ideally, the institutes, industry and the government should jointly chalk out a programme for larger benefit. There is an uncontrolled proliferation of engineering students. The AICTE should review the situation and deny permission for any more new colleges. This will keep the mediocre students away from the professional courses. A professional course offers higher and specialised level of education and training in any discipline like engineering, medicine or agriculture. It also gives a strong foothold in the discipline desired. But the professional course mania is mainly for the lucrative jobs that are now available for the (most successful) professional degree holders in the market. As a result, the percentage of students opting for professional courses is increasing each year though the demand in jobs is much less. It will be of interest to note that India has been producing 40 per cent of world's engineering graduates. But a recent industry study has revealed that only one out of every 47 engineering graduates is employable in accordance to their profession. Remaining work for a pittance or are in jobs unrelated to their education. If this scenario continues, future is unlikely to be rosy for a majority of engineering graduates
The imbalance created between the demand and supply ushers in huge employment crisis in the country. It is a wrong presumption that a mere engineering degree will earn a job in some multinational company. The mania for a professional degree may still be persisting among students but the credibility of such degrees in now increasingly coming under a doubt. This mania is not of the student’s but of their parent’s. Though the student is not willing or deserving, parents admit their wards in any self-financing institution without knowing the availability or capacity of the faculty. Adding the so called status symbol word “professional” is the basis for this craze.
The craze for professional courses cannot be termed unnatural what with multinationals luring away the professionals. Everybody is keen to join the bandwagon of professionals and merit is thrown to the winds. For, undertaking a professional course only requires money. Admission to such courses is easy. Examinations held for such courses are nothing but a farce. Everybody is on the run for money. But being in the stream belt of professionals need sincere aptitude, exceptional brilliance in the art and a supreme mental strength to keep ahead in the full run of highly competitive profession, where slips reward nothing but clannish failures.
Any education should be viewed with a perspective of acquiring knowledge in terms of the ability of the student to access it for his happy survival and not as a qualification to dream of lucrative jobs. Before investing their money in professional courses, parents and students must be aware of different options of courses and colleges. While opting a course, parents should also take the capacity of the students into consideration. Parents must discuss with their children and allow them to choose their option as desired.
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