CHENNAI: Parental pressure to become high achievers in education and career continues to daunt Indian youngsters, says a survey conducted by the NIE network. Though youngsters seem to have caught a break from the compulsion to get hitched, the pressure to stay ahead of peers is still strong. This could do more harm than good, warn experts.
There is pressure on both men and women when it comes to pursuing education. But as the number of seats available at top professional colleges are few, students and their parents have become more desperate to excel, says educationist Anil Sadgopal from the All India Forum for Right To Education. “Such pressure can lead to complications, including psychiatric problems,” observed Venkatesh Ramachandran, a consultant psychiatric from Chennai. “The choice of career should be left to the individual. Same is the case with marriage and job,” he added.
The pressure on the youth to get a job is also because there is a need to recover the money invested in education, says activists. “Right from LKG to Class XII, parents spend thousands of hard earned rupees for school education, which is then followed by lakhs committed towards their college fees. This dictates their belief that only professional degrees can get them jobs with attractive salaries,” says S Arumainathan, State president of Tamil Nadu Students Parents Welfare Association.
“It is now more than ever that we need to ensure that women go into every field,” noted Sithanthi Alfred from Bengaluru. “People are most creative and efficient in their early ages. We should not dump the responsibility of marriage at that age and restrict them,” adds the mother of a 24-year-old girl.