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Have guts? Opt for science
DEEPA KURUP
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Few opt for a research career because of peer pressure
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— Photos: K. Gopinathan
Studentspeak: (Top row) Rohit, Sreeja, Padma. (Bottom row) Nithin, Rajeshwari, Veena.
At some point or the other in their life, most children dream of becoming a scientist. While some may be intrigued by the work of atoms and molecules, others may be inspired by Dexter’s laboratory on Cartoon Network. Unfortunately, for most students, what starts off as a childish yet genuine love for science soon fizzles out into a career plan to takeover the material world.
Nobel laureate Sheldon Glashow, who was recently in India to interact with students, spoke about how the decline of interest in the basic sciences was a global phenomenon. “Perhaps it does not inspire anymore. Maybe nuclear weapons and pollution have turned the idealistic aura around science into a pessimistic/cynical one,” he says.
There has been a constant decline in the number of students taking up basic sciences in every university. Subjects such as B.Com which were not in demand earlier have many takers now due to the fact that they fetch easy jobs. Students, like everybody else, seem to be market driven. While some say that it is peer pressure others say that they are forced by their parents to make such a decision. Here is what students from different colleges in Bangalore had to say about the dwindling interest and participation in basic science courses.
Rohit M. (3rd year ECE at MSRIT): The problem is that the opportunities are really little. We are hardly exposed to any of this. Even for engineering students, there is no real exposure to any basic sciences or research. To access these kinds of research papers we need to be part of some IEEE association. At the pre-university level, there is absolutely no awareness. Students should know about these opportunities to get interested. The course is such that we study all the subjects superficially. It all boils down to our own initiative.
Sreeja S.R. (third year ECE at MSRIT): I think awareness about the basic sciences should be started right from the high school level. How else will they get interested in science? Interest for such things has to be fostered at an early level itself. If the basics are right, then one can grasp concepts later on. That’s the problem with not giving us a good grounding. Peer pressure also plays a very big role. When you see everybody doing engineering, you feel the pressure to follow them. The whole thinking is market-oriented. It is also true that the demand for researchers and scientists is limited.
Padma M. (fourth year Chemical Engineering at M.S. Ramaiah College): It is all about money. I took chemical engineering so that I do not lose touch with the basic sciences. When I finished college, my family wanted me to get into electronics engineering or some such lucrative career. People will laugh at you if you think of doing B.Sc or M.Sc. In my entire batch, hardly three of us wanted to do research or M.S. People look at career as an investment. They try to find out what returns they can get from their education.
Nithin V. (fourth year Chemical Engineering at M.S. Ramaiah College): I think it is mostly about parents and the older generation. It is about living up to our parent’s hopes. Information Technology is the most happening field. Students, when they get out of college, feel that they need to settle down soon. They think that if you take a professional course, your life is set. I have applied for a Ph.D. course but then there is nobody else who is doing that. It’s a very wrong and unfortunate trend.
Rajeshwari M. (first year M.Sc at Bangalore University): Most of the problem lies with the way parents think. Children are influenced by that, and often forced by them to take up professional courses against their will. I would attribute 60 per cent of the problem to the fact that children themselves are not interested. We are not exposed to the prospects of research and academic pursuits. We are led to believe that it is not a good career. A lot of the blame lies with our own attitudes, but then we are also constantly told that we need to make money and secure a good career.
Veena M. (first year M.Sc at Bangalore University): One of the most important factors is lack of guidance. We are led to believe that there are no prospects and that it is useless to study science. With proper guidance, many of us may take up these courses and try to do research in institutes.
We are often misguided by our professors, who tell us that there is not much of a career in this. Several students end up shifting courses and dropping out. Especially for girls, there are several pressures. Most of those who take up basic sciences at the graduate level are girls, and parents force them to get married once they graduate. Most of us are influenced by what our families say. This is a wrong trend, but who will break the barriers? That is why so many people opt for the easier path.
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Education Plus
Karnataka
Chennai
Coimbatore
Hyderabad
Madurai
Tiruchirapalli
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
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