No takers for pure sciences

Updated on: Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Once a favourite career option, becoming a scientist no longer seems to be any young Chennaiiite's dream. According to a recent survey, a course in physics, chemistry or mathematics is as popular among students here as a course in radio jockeying or aroma therapy.

The study, conducted by career counselling firm Youngbuzz , shows that since 2006, the city has seen a drastic fall in the number of students opting to study the pure sciences. While 27% of girls and 20% of boys opted for these courses in 2006, only 5% of girls and 3% of boys chose the same courses in 2011. This means there has been an average decrease of almost 20% in the total number of science students. In Mumbai and Bangalore, pure science remains the most popular option, outdoing both engineering and medicine.

The survey was conducted over nine months in 2006 and 2011 in three cities – Bangalore, Chennai and Mumbai. The career aspirations of 3,300 students in the age group of 15-18 were recorded. Pure science includes subjects such as astrophysics , chemistry, geology, maths, material sciences, oceanography, operations research , physics, statistics, agricultural science, biochemistry, bioinformatics, biomedical science / engineering, biophysics, biotechnology, botany and environmental science.

Surprisingly, overall the total number of students opting for science is high. The total number of girls opting for these courses in all the three cities has increased from 16% to 23% and the total number of boys has risen from 14% to 26%. Radha Sreekanth, who teaches science for students of class 10 at Chinmaya Vidyalaya in Anna Nagar, says science remains the most popular option in class 11 and 12. "Last year, almost 75% of class 10 students in our school opted for science. However, most of them choose this subject due to parental pressure to pursue medicine or engineering," she says.

Teachers say most students who study pure science are those who can't get admission into engineering or medical colleges. Those who study these subjects also opt for courses in management or aim to join the government services. "Getting into colleges like the IITs remains the aim for most students who opt for science in our college," says Dr Shyamala Kanakarajan, viceprincipal of Ethiraj College. "Therefore, among the science courses, maths is the most popular. Students who pass out aim to get into one of the IITs to pursue a course or do research in allied engineering."

Dr Kanakarajan says the trend is changing and pure science courses seem set to regain their popularity. "Till last year, we were worried about the lack of takers for the science courses , especially biotechnology and microbiology. However, this year, the numbers opting for them are higher," she says.

Times of India

No takers for pure sciences

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