The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : `Parents must guide, not influence, children'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, May 16, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

`Parents must guide, not influence, children'

Staff Reporter

Children should be encouraged to do a self-assessment before deciding on their career, say experts

CHENNAI: : What's the level of parental influence needed to shape the career of children? Should parents decide the course of action or do sweeping changes in the job market call for an overhaul of this traditional approach?

A straight answer may not be easy for most parents, given their anxiety to see the youngsters lay the right foundation. Experts in human resource development, however, recommend that parental influence give way to guidance.

The times have changed, a few experts told a meeting here on Sunday. Parents playing a dominant role in deciding the academic choices of children was dangerous, as their talent could lay elsewhere. Parents have an important role, but students should be encouraged to do a self-assessment, said G. Shankar, a management expert, and president, Madras Consulting Group.

Addressing the meeting, organised by Nandini Consultancy Centre, he said that considering the gaps in the education system, the requirements of employers and new fields of job opportunities, parents should guide the children as per their preferences.

Underlining the need for more industry and vocation-oriented education, he said though there were more job opportunities, it was not easy for the industry to get suitable candidates. Most of the companies, therefore, recruit people at a low salary and train them for the job.

"Working in anything other than their area of talent is difficult," said N. Padmanabhan, a former professor of engineering at Anna University. Students should assess the potential of their preferred academic course in the job market. They should also lay greater emphasis on personality development.

P.K.N. Panicker, former president, Indian Institute of Chemical Engineering, said one of the reasons parents make career choices was the dependence of children on them. In the Western countries, children seek to become financially independent after high school.

Job prospects

A recent Statewide survey on employment prospects for fresh graduate engineers, conducted by Nandini Consultancy, predicted that at least 29 per cent of the 52,000 students passing out of engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu would not find suitable jobs.

N.S. Venkataraman, Director, said the study found that employment prospects for engineers in the State would remain dismal, unless job creations were significant. Estimating that 35,000 jobs were likely to be created annually for fresh graduates — 10,000 new and 25,000 as replacements — the study said while bright students would get opportunities, others would be face unemployment problem.

"The parents have the responsibility of judging the situation by virtue of their experience and advising the children accordingly. If the students are to be academically marginal, they should prefer not to get into the engineering college at all," the study said.

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