The Hindu Education Plus Career Counselling session was successfully conducted in Gnyanasudha Vidyalaya school and Pre University college in Bidar on Sunday.
B.V. Shivaprakash, Registrar, Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University and director of research inaugurated the event. He introduced children to various courses in farm sciences. He also released The Hindu Education Plus Career Guidance Handbook 2022.
He asked students to choose a course based on their interests and convictions. Using statistical data, he said that getting a seat in a veterinary college was as difficult as getting admission in any other professional college. The veterinary surgeon described his profession as a noble pursuit. “We usually tell our students during induction that a veterinarian is the best doctor as his patients can not tell him what is wrong with them, he has to just know,’’ he said to a grand applause.
Professor Shivaprakash spoke about the process of applying to the KVAFSU university for undergraduate and post graduate courses through the Karnataka examination authority and the facilities available under farmers’ quota. He also spoke about emerging fields like bio technology, seed production and genetic research in field and plantation crops.
Ameen Mudassar, founder and CEO of CIGMA foundation, gave an overview of the field of higher education and vocational education.
He advised students to develop a clear understanding of one’s personality, interests and taste. We should be fully aware of what we want, but we should keep a constant eye on the rising trends in the fields of education and employment. We have to keep abreast of emerging markets, new technology and current affairs. You have to make an assessment of all that and then decide what suits you, he said.
He asked students to study the fields of activity that gained prominence after the COVID epidemic and the lock down. “The lockdown has led to various new trends and life styles. There are new professions like social media manager, digital marketing professionals and influencers and image managers. Most of them are very lucrative,’’ he said.
Even in the field of medicine, there is a demand for doctors in new fields, based on the diseases that are cropping up based on wrong life styles, he said.
He urged students to :”never make the mistake of choosing something under duress or under social pressure’’.
“There is no profession that does not demand continuous learning. We used to hear things like continuous learning is necessary for doctors, lawyers, teachers and scientists. But this applies to all professions. Learning never stops for anyone,’’ Mr Mudassar said.
However, the loudest claps were reserved for Rajesh Kamtikar, associate professor of Bidar institute of medical sciences who spoke about a career in medicine. He used humorous anecdotes, memes and caricatures in his presentation and made the students burst into laughter. “You should not choose medicine just based on social status of doctors or the perceived notion of their earnings. Only a burning desire to serve the society should motivate you to become doctors. If you don’t have that, there is no meaning in spending 15-18 years studying medicine,’’ he said.
Professor Kamtikar spoke about how a large number of students quit medical colleges after a year or two into the MBBS course, after realising that they had chosen the wrong subject. “Such students have not only done injustice to themselves, but also to those deserving students who really wanted to be doctors, but lost these seat to such reluctant medical students,’’ he said.
Guruprasad Kulkarni, assistant professor, GND engineering college, began by asking how many students wanted to choose engineering by choice. After counting raised hands, he asked them not to join an engineering college by force of their parents, peers, teachers or family friends. “The whole point of joining an engineering course was to help students use their skills to build the society. Engineers can come in various colours- some are civil, electrical or mechanical engineers, and some can be electronic or computer science engineers. The motto of all however, is one- to build and rebuild the society. If you don’t want to be a part of this, you better choose another profession,” he said.
Platinum Sponsors of the event were Presidency University, Ramaiah University of applied science and Reva University. The Gold Sponsors were Cambridge Institute of Technology, Siddaganga Institute of Technology Tumkuru and Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology.
The Silver Sponsors were ACS College of Engineering , Atria Inst of Technology , Kammavari Sangham Group of Institutions , Raja Rajeswari College of Engineering, Soundarya institute of management science, Tapmi Bengaluru, Universal Group of Institutions and the Associate Sponsors were CMR University , Karnataka State Open University Mysore, Sri Sairam College of Engineering and Shaheen Group of Institutions Bidar.
Poornima George, president of the GSV education society, Nagaraj Phatak, advertisement officer, The Hindu, M. Mahesh, executive in charge of educational institutions and others were present. Over 500 students and parents were present. They were presented with the career handbook 2022.
