| Monday, Mar 19, 2007
Not many takers for Biology
Have attractive job opportunities in the IT industry reduced the number of students opting for biology?
Chennai: "I want to become a doctor." Till a few years
ago, most students could be heard saying this. Once every student's
dream, Medicine may soon lose its demand, considering the drop
in the number of students opting for Biology in Class XI.
Much to the surprise of academicians, a significant decline
in the number of takers for the subject has been observed. Principal
of D.A.V. Boys Senior Secondary School C. Satish says there
is a 25 per cent decrease in the number of students opting for
Biology, compared to last year.
"In our State Board schools (of the D.A.V. group), the
number of students choosing Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry
and Biology-group has gone down by 40 per cent," he says.
The reason?
Even in the State Board Higher Secondary examinations this year,
a total of 1,69,161 students appeared for the Biology paper.
According to Director of Government Examinations Vasanthi Jeevanandam,
the number of students appearing for the subject has gone down
by about 15,000. School heads and analysts attribute the decrease
to the growing opportunities in the Information Technology sector.
While a student of medicine is in the final year, some of their
batch mates have already completed engineering and found a good
job. As a result, more students prefer to opt for the Mathematics,
Physics, Chemistry and Computer Science combination.
Salem-based career consultant Jayaprakash Gandhi says attractive
pay scales and wide range of opportunities available in the
IT sector give students the impression that Computer Science
is a more feasible option. "Not just engineers, even B.
Sc. and BCA graduates get placed in good IT companies with reasonable
pay packets," he says. Even top residential schools around
Nammakal have observed a considerable drop in the number of
students opting for biology, he notes.
Better job prospects
NASSCOM's prediction that there would be a shortage of manpower
in the IT industry in the coming years has given students more
confidence about job prospects in the sector. The number of
students who took the Computer Science examination (as part
of the State Board Higher Secondary Examination) this year was
26,696 more than the number last year.
Implications
The trend would not only result in a significant drop in cut-off
scores for medical and dental admissions. It would also influence
admissions into paramedical courses.
"There will be hardly any takers for courses such as agriculture,
veterinary sciences and alternative medicine," Mr. Gandhi
says, adding, "Courses in life sciences will also have
fewer applicants." In addition to this, academicians foresee
a setback in research and a paucity of teachers in these subjects.
A temporary phase?
Though a cause for concern, academicians see this change in
preference as a temporary phase. Chairperson of Higher Secondary
Zoology Text Book Committee and former head of Zoology Department
at Government Arts College (Nandanam), P. Sargunam Stephen,
says the situation is bound to change during the next couple
of years.
"This is a temporary phase. Students who are genuinely
interested in the subject will opt for it no matter what. Moreover,
only research in Biology and medicine can give an answer to
epidemics and concerns such as global warming." With medical
tourism coming up in a big way, the demand for experts in medicine
and paramedical streams will be very high, he adds.
And with the inclusion of chapters on Immunology, Microbiology,
environmental issues, Biotechnology and Genetics in the enriched
Biology syllabus, the subject has only become more interesting
and relevant.
Enriched subject
Principal of P.S. Senior Secondary School Vijayalakshmi Srivatsan
also feels the fall in demand for Biology is temporary. "Though
we have more students opting for Computer Science, we have a
constant number (25-30) students opting for Biology every year."
She says that while a computer course may be completed at any
recognised coaching institution, Biology can be taught only
in school. "It will never come in the way of a student's
prospective job in the IT sector. They can still take up the
job."
In the long run, she sees Biology as having more prospects due
to advancements in areas such as Bioinformatics and Biomedical
Engineering. "Students must also remember that there is
no retirement in medicine and related areas, while the IT sector
is only interested in those below 40 years."
The demand in the IT sector is controlled by the global market
scenario, while the demand for doctors, paramedical professionals,
researchers and teachers is determined by local factors, she
adds. "Though a course in medicine, and later, specialisations
may take close to 10 years, once the student is done, sky is
the limit!"
Courtesy: The Hindu - Education Plus
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