Dear Students THINK BEFORE YOU LEAP......

+2 results are out. The long lasted anxiety in the minds of parents and students has begun to drain. The newspapers have begun to make money with advertisements from almost every institution that exists in TamilNadu. On the day of the announcement of results, I happen to switch between a few Tamil Channels that were broadcasting the result statistics and the live coverage of the interviews from the state and district level achievers. There were jubilation, back slaps, distribution of sweets, handshakes, hugs, etc.. A few children were in absolute spotlight and were celebrating to the maximum. But the newspapers and television gave a different view of this, the very next day. Two girls committed suicide for not scoring the expected marks. This has become a common occurrence, because even during my school days we were habituated hearing of such suicides and suicidal attempts immediately after the publication of results. But what affected me badly was the suicide of a father. On 11^th May, the televisions said a father committed suicide because his son got poor marks and he cannot be admitted into a reputed engineering college.

This left me pondering. Where do we go and what are we upto? Why has our educational system shrunk to mere accumulation of marks? Are marks the ultimate end of education? Does distinction in +2 guarantee distinction in college? Are the detainees in +2 doomed throughout their entire life? Is the grading system comprehensive? Does the education take into account the entire personality of an individual? Does the streams in higher education all inclusive of students’ interests and talents?

These were some of the questions that I began pondering over. It is painsome to note even after scoring marks in distinction, the high achievers do not exercise individualism and creativity in deciding the course of their study. There are just two moulds that shape the life of every good student in our nation. The first tailor cut mould is medicine and the second mould is engineering. Our students, almost everyone, are blindfolded and hence are unable to think beyond these two moulds. Literally every student I met in school or on the street wants to appear both for medicine and engineering counseling and take whatever he/she gets. So there is almost no conviction, no farsightedness and no dreams about life. They are at the absolute mercy of time and tide to dictate them their future.

This made me browse a few websites for the growth prospect in these two sectors. My search gave me a picture that both these fields have one thing in common. That is they sport a very dismal future.

Engineering is the most preferred choice of almost all students in Tamilnadu. But statistics say that India produces close to 1.5 million Engineers every year and the number is increasing with the mushrooming of XYZ Engineer colleges in every nook and corner of the state and the nation. But the disturbing fact is that hardly 15% of them get securely placed. Thanks to the global economic recession and the onslaught of Chinese ‘more labour less wages’ strategy on the foreign multinationals, we witness a great drain in the availability of engineering jobs across the nation. So there are already a few hundred million engineers in our nation, who are either extremely under placed with meager wages to manage the daily bread of their families or left jobless and at the mercy of their parents. Many websites allegedly report that there seems to be a wave of frustration amidst engineering graduates and in metropolises many graduates are found to involve in anti-social activities, such as, chain snatching and shop lifting.

Amidst such a scenario, where do the aspiring engineering graduates have a scope for secure and sophisticated career? Even when big fishes in the market are keen on cost cutting and automation, where on earth can we be assured of good job prospect?

The story of medicine is far more dismal. All of us might have been aware of the recent news. A doctor has filed a complaint against an IAS officer. The doctor has poured many lakhs of rupees into the pocket of the IAS officer for a medical seat. An e-article in the online version of The Hindu left me with a clear picture of the trend of “selling of medical seats”. The government medical colleges being very few, the private medical colleges rule the roost. They commonly object to the common entrance test. They dodge the test to keep away from fair admission procedures. Some institutions conduct their own entrance test, of which most of them are mere act of perfunctory or eyewash. So mere educational credit can in no way gain one a seat rather you should have a sound economic background.

The irony here is a meritorious candidate might be wielded away from the field of medicine for lack of money and on the other hand an undeserving candidate may have a blessing of free loitering in the medical campuses not because of his hard work but of the economic reserve of his parent.

The history proves that many meritorious students emerge from middle and lower middle class families. Spending 20 to 30 lakhs and more on a medical seat can be surely nightmarish for them. The parents have to get transformed as ATM machines, throwing up money everyday to help their children fulfill their medicinal dream. On the contrary, the rich can afford it but their dedication towards education is at stake amidst such luxury.

Even if you make the ends meet and graduate out of a medical college, can you be assured of a prosperous career? You need to be necessarily a slave at the beck and call of a multi branch multi-specialty hospital owner, whose education might not even be one third of yours. The hospital will make millions out of your service but will pay you peanuts. Or else, your parents should have an ever burgeoning bank balance to establish a clinic and make you the doctor in chief. Or else, you should be born of doctor couple, who already run a reputed clinic to which you become the caretaker in the future.

The stakes for the last two possibilities are very less. Thus, even 30 lakh medical seat does not guarantee one a full purse career. Then why should there be a heavy rush on engineering and medicine?

Can we think beyond these two streams? Journalism, Fashion Technology, Hotel Management, Catering, Space Technology, Safety Technology, Statistics, Marine Biology, Nutrition, Food Technology, Diary Research, Tourism, Indian Administrative Service, Indian Foreign Services, Indian Police Service, Agricultural Research, Industrial Research, Administrative and clerical jobs in Indian Parliament, Aviation, Media Anchoring, NGO administration are some of the sectors that are viewed by students either with bias and prejudice or neglected. These are areas are hardly explored but they have enough juice to feed a million.

Apart from all these, there is yet another possibility. I at times ponder have I wasted my time and money adding three degrees to my credit for a salary of a few thousand rupees per month?

Should we ever belong to the salaried class? Can’t we upgrade ourselves to the position of the one who gives salary?

I commonly envy the tea shop owners in my city, who generally make a full purse everyday. Same is the case with hoteliers, textile merchants and the owners of road side snack stalls.

In Tamil there is a proverb “Learn a trade of your own and cast your worries behind”. Why can’t we become an entrepreneur, industrialist and an owner of a home made production unit??

Students, My Dear Brothers and Sisters, “THINK BEFORE YOU LEAP”. At my age, having a family to take care it is not feasible for me to take a risk. But your age is the right age to decide your future and taste the savour of a few risks and finally the fruit of success.

May you all be innovative in your thought patterns, break the barriers, walk the untreaded or less treaded path and taste success……..