Friday, May 27, 2011

Shift from Science to Economics ?

Read a story in times of India about a student, Manu Rathore, from Jaipur. A typical science student who had scored 92.6% in CBSE Class XII. Like any other PCM student, he wanted to go into Engineering. While working on a project Consumer Awareness in Rural India' with Consumer Unity & Trust Society -- International (CUTS) - in a village near Amber in Jaipur, during summer vacation last year, he developed interest in economics. As he explained his interest in economics, he said, "I have realised a clear divide between the rural and urban India while working on the project. This gap can be bridged only with economic literacy".

Whenever we see such a change in career path, we are surprised. But there is often a clue in the past career track to suggest that this could have happened. So i searched for something. To my surprise ( not really!) i found one strong clue. His father, Vijay Veer Singh, is Head of department of economics, Rajasthan University (RU). Infact Manu belongs to a highly educated family with his mother a income tax commissioner in Mumbai. It is my gut feeling that, if we talk to Manu, we may find some more clues of his interest in Economics, that could have been seeded. The project in Economics only kindled the desire which was latent !

I had a friend of mine, whose son ( let us call him Anand) wanted to go to Engineering, after finishing his XIIth. He therefore joined a IIT course in Mumbai. However, he found a very good teacher in Economics in his school. Despite his avowed interest in IT as a special subject, he chose Economics as his special subject. I was not surprised. But unlike Manu, he does not have anyone close in the family who has done Economics. What do you think will he chose after 12th class? Engineering or Economics?

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