Andhra Pradesh   

Intermediate worries, interred

R. Ravikanth Reddy(With inputs from S. Sandeep Kumar)

EducationPlus Right guidance is the key

Fresh from their success at the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations students are now ready to take the most crucial voyage of their life.

Immersed in the joy of success all these days, students now stand at crossroads, staring ahead with confusion. What course to choose in Intermediate is the question haunting every student and their parents.

While students may not be matured enough to choose the right stream parents often end up imposing their ambition on wards. After a year, the students discover that the course does not suit their interests.

By then, it is too late. What they need is some guidance from parents and teachers on choosing the right course, right combination, right college.

All these are based not on peer pressure but on the interests and strengths of the students.

There are a variety of courses to choose from a host of colleges. However, what is the right course and which is the best college depends on what the students are interested in. The Board of Intermediate Education (BIE) offers various courses with the combination of Maths, Science and Commerce as the core subjects.

Unlike what most parents think, Intermediate education does not end with MPC or BiPC streams. Choosing CEC or MEC has its own benefits and doors to exciting careers can open through them too. Most of the colleges follow a basic structure prescribed by the BIE, which has mainly four options - MPC (Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry), BiPC (Biology, Physics and Chemistry), CEC (Commerce, Economics and Civics) and MEC (Maths, Economics and Commerce).

Introduction of subjects like Psychology, Sociology, Home Science and Logic, Classical Languages and Fine Arts has opened a wider choice for students.

Package deals

For those intending to study Maths and Biology as base subjects, corporate colleges have package deals that come with IIT, EAMCET and AIEEE coaching. The Government colleges too have decided to follow suit with special classes for competitive examinations. The CEC and MEC too are picking in popularity thanks to the introduction of variety of combinations to choose from (check the BIE website).

Commerce beckons

For students opting for Commerce, streams like Chartered Accountant (CA), company secretary (CS), Cost and works Accountant (ICWAI), Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Computer applications (MCA) provide ample career opportunities. Besides pursuing their regular Intermediate education Commerce students by pursuing foundation courses can cement a base to their career.

"Thanks to globalisation, fields like International Taxation, Computerised accounts and other fields are emerging and in the process providing new career opportunities for Commerce students.

Commerce and Management students now get a starting salary of Rs 20,000," says G.Ramgopal, Principal, St. Francis Xavier Junior College, Hyderabad.

The major factor that gives Commerce and edge over MPC and BPC is the time frame.

Both Engineering and Medicine graduation takes four years.

When it comes to postgraduate studies getting admission in specialised streams for medicine and engineering students in itself is a challenge but for a commerce student, if he/she clears the four groups of CA/CS/ ICWAI in two years then companies are willing to recruit them even when they are under training, adds Mr. Ramgopal.

Another important stream of Intermediate education are vocational courses that aim at infusing skills that provide employment opportunities immediately.

Intermediate vocational Dairying, Fisheries, Sericulture, Animation and Graphics, Tourism and Travel Techniques, construction Technology, Rural Engineering Technology, Fashion garments, Catering, and secretarial management are some of the numerous job oriented courses.

For more details, one can log onto www.bieap.gov.in.

(With inputs from

S. Sandeep Kumar)

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Rajasekhara Reddy brushes aside TDP criticism
TDP failed to convince ryots on reforms: Naidu
Waiting hall on Tirumala to be air-conditioned
Intermediate worries, interred
Plea on Ramagundam fertilizer unit
JKCs taste success
More JKCs to be set up
Special day
BJP refutes TDP charge on smaller States
Briefly

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu