Pointing to the massive number of candidates aspiring to crack the Union Public Services Commission (UPSC) and become civil servants, Lavish Ordia, Assistant Commissioner, asked the students to understand the reality before taking up the preparations for the competitive examinations.
“Around ten lakh students take UPSC examinations and compete for around 1000 total posts of Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Services and Indian Forest Service, Indian Revenue Service and other services. It means that just less than 0.01% of the candidates can crack the UPSC examinations. I am not discouraging or demotivating you. I am just bringing it to your notice that you can better understand the reality and be better prepared for the tough competition. If you are confident of working hard and being one among the 1000 selected candidates, you can go ahead and prepare for UPSC examinations,” Mr. Ordia said after inaugurating The Hindu Education Plus Career Counselling programme at Sri Poojya Channa Basava Pattaddevaru Ranga Mandir in Bidar on Saturday.
“Competitive examinations are different from Board examinations. The former signifies that you are competing with somebody and the latter you are competing with none. In Board examinations, you get the marks for your hard work and pass. What matters in competitive examinations is how many people are ahead of you. Because competitive examinations are held to fill the limited posts. The huge gap between the number of available posts and the number of applicants makes the competition brutal,” he said.
Mr. Ordia adopted the interactive method to understand the students’ aspirations and guided them on their specific choices. When a student stood up and said that he wanted to become a successful investor in the stock market and make lot of money, the officer said that there was nothing to aspire to become rich through legitimate means.
“Wants and needs are different from person to person. Some are complacent in commuting in train and some others feel that air travel is a basic requirement. Some are satisfied with bikes and some others feel that a car is a basic need. I don’t think that aspiring to meet one’s own wants is not a bad thing. I don’t think aspiring to make money through legitimate means is not a bad thing. The dreams of many people in the middle class are also middle-class. We need not restrict our dreams to our present physical conditions. We can have bigger dreams and work hard to realise them. If you are passionate about your job, you will do it well and you will enjoy it,” Mr. Ordia said.
Good human beings
Abdul Qadeer, an educationist and the Chairman of Shaheen Group of Institutions, who was the guest of honour, motivated the students with his inspirational advice for them to become good human beings before aspiring for other lucrative jobs.
“I have seen an IAS officer who was torturing his wife publicly. I have seen many doctors who are arrested for their malpractice. If you cannot become a good human being, you cannot become a good officer or good doctor. Being a good human being must be prioritised over getting a high-paying job. Younger generation has a greater role to play in changing the future of the country and you all have a greater responsibility to change the society for the better,” Mr. Qadeer said.
Syed Sadath Pasha, a UPSC coach and professional career counsellor, dived deep into a wide range of career options choose from other than medical and engineering streams. With his unique style of interactive address, he engaged the students and went on to list the career options and the job opportunities available in each one of them.
“Don’t come under the pressure or the influence of others when you make your career choices. You know your strengths and weaknesses. You are the better judge to decide what is better for you. Taking opinions from your friends and well-wishers is not a bad thing. However, it should be you who must decide at the end after taking into account what you are best in,” he said.
Healthcare options
Mallikarjun G.B., Associate Professor at Bidar Institute of Medical Sciences, described in detail the wide range of options available in the healthcare sector apart from an allopathic stream of medicine.
“Everybody wants to become a doctor. But it is practically not possible. We need to explore other options that are equally important in the healthcare sector. Doctors alone cannot run a hospital. He needs supportive structures. Nursing, lab technology, operation theatre technology, physiotherapy, imaging technology and pharmacy are some of the other areas that are in high demand these days,” he said.
Rajashekhar Matapathi, Professor at Bheemanna Khandre Institute of Technology, Bhalki, explained the various branches in the engineering stream that were in high demand such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, and data science.
Dayanand Jamakhandikar, Professor and Head of the Department of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning at GND Engineering College, Bidar, spoke in detail about the Common Entrance Test procedure and the allotment of colleges as per the ranking. He made a detailed presentation of the process and advised the students about the things to be taken care of while selecting the colleges on a priority basis.
Platinum Sponsors of the event were Presidency University & REVA University. Gold Sponsors of the event were Gitam University, RV University, SRM University AP, Mahindra University, Hindustan Group of Institutions Chennai, Cambridge Institute of Technology & Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences. Silver Sponsors were Alliance University, Christ University, JSS Science & Technology University, JSS Academy of Higher Education & Research, Vidyavardhaka College of Engineering, Indian Institute of Fashion Technology, Soundarya Institutions, SRM IST RAMAPURAM CAMPUS, Chanakya University, CMR University, East Point Group of Institution, Karnataka State Open University, Malnad College of Engineering, IIBS, Kammavari Sangha Institute of Technology, St Joseph Engineering College & S-VYASA Deemed to be University.
A similar career guidance event will be held at Poojya Doddappa Appa Sabha Mantap at the Sharnbasva University campus in Kalaburagi on Sunday. The registration will start at 9 a.m.
