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After passing 10th standard, students are at the crossroads of their academic life. The stream they will choose will become a deciding factor for their career. And with the number of career options available today, children only feel more confused about the stream they must select. In such a case, the parents’ selection becomes a major deciding factor

Going by the interactions with some parents whose children recently gave their tenth standard exams, Engineering continues to be the most preferred choice of stream. This is precisely why they persuade their child to choose the Science stream with Physics, Chemistry and Math as the core subjects in their 11th and 12th standard. The Commerce field, though popular, is still behind in terms of the number of students opting for it. As per the government records, 15 lakh aspirants took JEE and other Engineering Entrance Exams, as compared to the 2 lakh odd students who appeared for Charted Accountancy and Company Secretary exams.

Rajeshwar Singh enrolled his son Abhinav Singh in Sri Chaitanya Junior College, Kukatpally, in the Science stream. This course also includes coaching for the EAMCET and JEE. “Abhinav’s cousins are all engineers and they had secured jobs in MNCs soon after their graduation. I also want that for my son. Abhinav even scored well in Math, hence I prefer that he should continue with the same.” he said.

The thrust to pursue Engineering begins not just after tenth standard. Right from the mid-secondary classes, the base for the syllabus of engineering entrance exams is introduced. K. Basvaraju, father K. Akash who has passed his tenth standard recently, says,”My son got his admission in Vishra Academy, Hyderabad with Physics, Chemistry and Math as his subjects. Since he has had this base from the eighth standard, it will be the best choice for him.”

But would this really be the best choice?

Mr. Chandrashekharappa, Pre-University Section Principal, Surana College, Bengaluru counsels students before their enrolment. He says, “Unless a child is determined about choosing a subject, most parents feel engineering as a safe option given the job opportunities . They see many young engineer graduates securing jobs in MNCs. Engineers from the other streams can join IT companies and at the same time look out for core engineering jobs as well.”

Meanwhile, there are also parents who enrol their kids in intermediate courses with a combination of Maths, Economics and Commerce as their core subjects rather than Science. Kavita Kotak, who chose this combination for her son Dev Kotak says, “It will provide him wider options in the field of finance and commerce.”

Piyush Agrawal, CEO and Founder of Superprofs.com says, “Due to increasing awareness, students have started showing interest in pursuing Charted Accountancy and Company Secretary courses rather than just the Engineering and Medical professions.” He also adds that there is a need to raise awareness about the possible opportunities in commerce and finance fields. The effective way would be through counselling and seminar sessions for parents and students at the school level.