MYSURU: A student from a rural background who was pursuing PUC in the Arts stream failed to clear his exams. The family members reprimanded him for having done poorly in the exams. He was emotionally distressed and died by suicide, leaving his family members shattered.
This prompted Prof Shankar Bellur, an author and an accomplished career mentor from Mysuru to reach out to such students who have either failed or scored less than their expectations, through his videos.
The first video uploaded on YouTube under the title 'Career Choice for Students’, receivied a very good response, after which people from several began contacting him for professional help.
The video has got more than 1200 views with numerous comments and subscriptions from viewers.
He is offering his services to students who have been declared a failure academically and aims to make them competent and confident enough to face the challenges life throws at them.
In the video, he conveys that life is bigger than any academic programme, that they need to be open enough to explore life in all its dimensions. choose a suitable career and move on.
Through his message, he has tried to give hope and confidence for students regarding their future. He has suggested practical measures which they can follow so that their below-par academic performance doesn't adversely impact their career, going forward.
“The tremendous response from people made me realise the dearth of professional support available to students, facing challenges in their academic journey and personal life. It also encouraged me to come with a pragmatic solution to students who are either ignorant or confused in making an appropriate career decision," Shankar Bellur said.
In the future, he plans to start a career lab as a long-term solution to student issues on academics and career. He has also decided to establish these career labs in schools and colleges to mentor students towards their career goals.
"Unfortunately, in our education system, we have only two possible outcomes for students in their exams - either they pass or fail. Life is not either black or white but has shades of grey. Similarly, for students who have failed in the exams, there's life and hope beyond the setback of results,” he opined.
“Every year students die by suicide and this I believe is an avoidable human tragedy. Even in these progressive times, it is unfortunate that as a society we have collectively failed in giving hope and instilling confidence in the vulnerable student community, who are not able to academically perform as per the established standards. Standardization and one size fits all has created an uneven playing field for some of our students. This prompted me to do videos addressing students,” he added.
S Trishala, a student who has watched his videos said, “I was very confused as to what course to study during my UG, but the video helped me in choosing an appropriate course and I decided on the right career for me according to my strengths and interests.”
It can be recalled here that Prof Shankar Bellur, resident of Ramakrishna Nagar received international acclaim for his book 'At The Crossroads' by Book Authority, an international organisation based in San Francisco, USA.