Disapproving the tendency of parents pressuring their children to take a particular course or children insisting upon going to a particular institution abroad, S. Kumar, Executive Secretary and CEO of ComedK, has advised both to think beyond the popular courses and studying abroad to explore what he called “emerging courses” at home that would cost less and open more opportunities.
He was speaking at the second session of The Hindu EducationPlus Career Counselling Digital Conclave on Monday.”
“ Respect your parents, but don’t be pressured by their choice. Choose a course according to your passion and that makes you an innovator... Beyond the popular courses such as the computer science, mechanical engineering and information technology, choose less chosen options such as environmental engineering which is the thing of the future. MBBS, BE, BTech are not the only options. There are hundreds of programmes that are very less competitive and more lucrative” he said.
To elaborate his argument, Mr. Kumar stated that there were more than 50 emerging courses in the field of health sciences alone and went on to name a few of them such as occupational therapy, physiotherapy, audiology, prosthetic and orthotic engineering, mental rehabilitation, molecular biology, genomics, radiography, radio therapy, nuclear medicines, respiratory technology, medical laboratory technology, medical secretarial services, operation theatre technology, anaesthetic technology, dialysis technology, Cath lab technology, speech and hearing and dental mechanics.
“There are plenty of institutions offering all these programmes in India. Every major hospital needs them. Even if you want to leave the shores of this country for the Gulf or any other country to make fast money, the chances of immigration are much higher in these less-known or emerging programmes,” he said.
For the students who aspire to go abroad for higher education at the cost of “family future”, Mr. Kumar advised them to be more realistic while choosing the course and the place of study.
“You don’t have to go to the United States or England or any other place to make your future. This country has enormous opportunities to offer focused training. I have seen many parents succumbing to the pressure of their children, pledging the future of the family to service the huge educational loans only to cater the desire of the child to study abroad. Please don’t do it and be realistic,” he said.
Good place for learning
On the prospects of professional learning in Karnataka, Mr. Kumar said that the State was a good place for professional learning with industry backing. “Many engineering institutions established in the State have all the support from the industries. ISRO, DRDO, HAL, Bharat Electronics, HMT, Infosys, Wipro and others offer a very high opportunity of internship to the students seeking engineering education,” he said.
Before dwelling into the career option, Mr. Kumar spoke about ComedK and its counselling process vis-a-vis CET conducted by the government. “ComedK is an academic body that facilitates admissions in the member institutions. It has nothing to do with the negotiation of fees or the seat-sharing with the government. The Karnataka Private College Foundation takes care of that activity. There are no reservations based on domicile or constitutional provisions in ComedK. These would be taken care of by the government with the 45% seats which ComedK institutions share with the government of Karnataka,” he said.
Mr. Kumar’s 60-minute session was divided into two parts – the presentation and the interaction. The participants raised many questions that ranged from the fee structure in the ComedK institutions through the reliability of ranking ComedK institutions to the future of new courses. Many sought advice on the course to be opted. He patiently answered every question and offered his advice during the interaction.
Anuja Ganesh from The Hindu Group moderated the session.