Andhra Pradesh   

Science is not yet history

S. Sandeep Kumar

It is perhaps the most important step in a student's life. When it comes to selecting a stream to graduate after Intermediate or 10+2, most students are in quandary.

With many professional courses coming up and not to say of the cost of education one needs to invest, traditional courses like Bachelor of Science, Food Technology, and Bachelor of Commerce are still worthy to pursue. In the midst of emergence of concepts like bio-diesel energy and globalisation trends, experts believe that pure sciences - like life sciences, physical sciences, earth sciences and forensic sciences are set to takeover supplemented by Information Technology.

"These are the days of silicon chips and bio-diesel energy concepts. On par with the trends, students can pursue any B.Sc course like electronics with instrumentation, geo-physics, geology, bio-chemistry," says P.Maruthi Mohan, Professor, Department of Biochemistry, Osmania University and Coordinator UGC-SAP.

Sidelined

For women, B.Tech Food Technology, regular courses in Home Sciences and Applied Nutrition would be beneficial in the long. "It is sad that many students in the lure of engineering and medicine, sideline agriculture and veterinary courses," adds Mr. Mohan.

"Many universities offer B.Sc courses like biotechnology and a combination of biochemistry, genetics and microbiology. But students are advised to pursue these courses only in those colleges accredited by UGC or certified by Governing Committee Board's of Universities, though at times the course may cost more," says an official. To make students aware of the importance of basic sciences and other regular streams in taking up research, organisations like Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY) conduct nation wide entrance test and provide fellowships. Funded by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, the programme is administered by the Indian Institute of Science (IISC).

Students of Class X to those doing first year science undergraduate programmes are eligible to take the test. Students of basic sciences are provided with a fellowship of Rs 2,000 per month and annual contingency grant of Rs 4,000 till completion of Master of Science.

Engineering and Medical students are provided with Rs 3000 per month and annual contingency grant of Rs 6,000 till completion of Engineering and Medicine respectively.

More information can be had from Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-560012 or on www.iisc.ernet.in/kvpy.

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