THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Civil services are scoring over medicine and engineering as a career choice among students standing on the cusp of deciding their path for the future. According to the Directorate of Higher Secondary Education (DHSE), higher secondary school students are ditching the traditionally popular choices for civil services.
There was an overwhelming response - about 1,300 students from across the state - to the ongoing orientation programme called ‘Path Finder’, conducted in schools under the aegis of the Career Guidance and Adolescent Counselling Cell of the DHSE in association with the state government-run Kerala State Civil Service Academy.
According to Arun Kumar S, a first-year degree student, the quality of engineering and medicine education has gone down and so has its popularity. “Engineering and MBBS courses have limitations, but the civil services have many possibilities. It is a job which is closely involved with the needs of people. We don’t want to do mechanical work. Parents are also supportive of this career,” he said.
Career guidance cells at schools identify students with the right skills and aptitude for the exams to be conducted in each district headquarters. The top 25 students from each district are then selected for a workshop. The orientation at Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Ernakulam and Idukki district for this year is over. The programme at Kannur will be held on Wednesday. Young IAS and IPS officers and corporate trainers are part of the faculty for the programme.
“Each orientation programme has seen huge participation,” said CM Azeez, state coordinator, Career Guidance and Adolescent Counselling Cell, DHSE. “The programme is focused on the development of personality and communication skills, and giving insights to prepare for the civil services examination and help students decide on their optional subjects.”
The Pathfinder programme also saw a rise in the number of student participants. Speaking to Express, P K Sudheer Babu, director of the DHSE, said the interest among the students was evident in the orientation programmes. “It is true that there is a paradigm shift in the mind of young students in their career choice. It is a good sign that many students have changed their mindset of choosing engineering and medicine,” said Sudheer. Seven workshops are held during the year in all schools at Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam, Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Malappuram, Kozhikode and Kannur.
1300 students from across the state attended ‘Path Finder’, conducted in schools under the aegis of the Career Guidance and Adolescent Counselling Cell of the DHSE in association with the state government-run Kerala State Civil Service Academy