Maybe two months ago, some top Indian scientist went public, claiming science was being neglected in India. He asserted that fewer Indian students were opting for science courses in school and college, preferring to stick to the now more lucrative commerce/ MBA path. In the Indian school system, once a student finishes 10th grade, he/she has to chose a particular stream for his/her last two years in school. The main streams are science (biology or engineering), commerce and humanities. Once, science was the most in-demand stream and students queued up to get a chance to join. It was the most difficult stream to get into and only those with the best grades would make it. Over the last few years though, there has been a marked shift in public opinion. Parents, who once would have pressured their kids to become doctors or engineers, now prefer to force their offspring into the commerce stream. Most of us (the youth) now walk around in a daze mouthing the sacred letters; M, B and A. Everyone from qualified engineers to doctors are getting on the MBA bandwagon, nobody is safe, nothing sacred anymore. Respected college courses such as Physics have been ousted from their top-spot by economics, BBA and even English. Over the last few years, people have realised the vastly greater earning power that managers in their power suits command over grotty scientists in their white lab-coats.
Now the top Indian scientist (I’ve forgotten his name) had a ready solution. He claimed that by providing higher salaries and perks like free housing, the government could help steal back some scientists from the private sector and lure more students to the field.
I’m sorry Mr top scientist but you have it all wrong. The problem is not in funding (though science could always do with more), it’s more a question of opportunity. Our wonderful government though making great efforts to increase the levels of primary education (rather unsuccessfully) in the country, really is not bothered with higher education. Colleges and universities across the country are in decline, their admission capacities stuck at levels not sufficient for a population half of our magnificent one billion. Stuck in the admissions rat-race, I know first hand what it feels like to compete against ten thousand others like me for a few hundred seats in government universities. Delhi University for instance has five (yes five) seats in their post-graduate genetics programme and another five in their plant biotechnology course. Add to this the five seats in AIIMS for medical biotechnology and the 15 in JNU for biotechnology and you get the grand total of 30 qualified biotechnologists a year for a city with a population of 10 million. The situation is much the same in the rest of the country, as a result the only people profiting from this are the private universities. With little regulation, minimal infrastructure and a lot of under-the-the-table nonsense, these places make a lot of money, producing students with questionable qualifications. To actually study in a private institute, is to commit professional suicide. Though a lot have made a name for themselves, there remain many that just don’t cut it. Their degrees have little to no value, they don’t conduct any actual research worth mentioning and their graduates are only really qualified to become managers.
Despite all of this, our decision makers still think students don’t want to pursue a career in science. The simple fact is that a vast majority of the students who want to do so never get an opportunity to do so, as a result, those who can afford to do so go abroad. Going abroad, that’s another of our pet gripes; Indians love to complain of the ‘brain drain’, of talented students who rather than study and work in India go abroad, particularly to the west. Naturally you fuck-wits, who in their right minds would stick around where there is no opportunity to pursue your chosen path.
There’s no problem as far as commitment to science, there are still enough people who actually want to study science, there are plenty who would love to work in India. There are just not enough opportunities available for us.
Knowing the government though, it would be expecting too much to from them to assume that they will eventually figure this out. No, they generally favour pursuing hare-brained schemes like paying scientists more. We are also awaiting the next round of admissions, when another of their cock-eyed ideas, reservation will come into effect. Basically what this entails is increasing the number of students without increasing financial aid to universities, it also involves reserving seats for certain communities based on a hopelessly outmoded system that serves the political interests of a few more than the general well-being of the nation.
You could consider this a dumb rant of one of a disillusioned youth, but hey, I just call it as I see it. What I see is a country going down the crapper because a few in power can’t se beyond their hairy fucking arses and while those few debate on how to increase the public perception of science in the country, millions wait, qualified and willing but unemployed.
Now the top Indian scientist (I’ve forgotten his name) had a ready solution. He claimed that by providing higher salaries and perks like free housing, the government could help steal back some scientists from the private sector and lure more students to the field.
I’m sorry Mr top scientist but you have it all wrong. The problem is not in funding (though science could always do with more), it’s more a question of opportunity. Our wonderful government though making great efforts to increase the levels of primary education (rather unsuccessfully) in the country, really is not bothered with higher education. Colleges and universities across the country are in decline, their admission capacities stuck at levels not sufficient for a population half of our magnificent one billion. Stuck in the admissions rat-race, I know first hand what it feels like to compete against ten thousand others like me for a few hundred seats in government universities. Delhi University for instance has five (yes five) seats in their post-graduate genetics programme and another five in their plant biotechnology course. Add to this the five seats in AIIMS for medical biotechnology and the 15 in JNU for biotechnology and you get the grand total of 30 qualified biotechnologists a year for a city with a population of 10 million. The situation is much the same in the rest of the country, as a result the only people profiting from this are the private universities. With little regulation, minimal infrastructure and a lot of under-the-the-table nonsense, these places make a lot of money, producing students with questionable qualifications. To actually study in a private institute, is to commit professional suicide. Though a lot have made a name for themselves, there remain many that just don’t cut it. Their degrees have little to no value, they don’t conduct any actual research worth mentioning and their graduates are only really qualified to become managers.
Despite all of this, our decision makers still think students don’t want to pursue a career in science. The simple fact is that a vast majority of the students who want to do so never get an opportunity to do so, as a result, those who can afford to do so go abroad. Going abroad, that’s another of our pet gripes; Indians love to complain of the ‘brain drain’, of talented students who rather than study and work in India go abroad, particularly to the west. Naturally you fuck-wits, who in their right minds would stick around where there is no opportunity to pursue your chosen path.
There’s no problem as far as commitment to science, there are still enough people who actually want to study science, there are plenty who would love to work in India. There are just not enough opportunities available for us.
Knowing the government though, it would be expecting too much to from them to assume that they will eventually figure this out. No, they generally favour pursuing hare-brained schemes like paying scientists more. We are also awaiting the next round of admissions, when another of their cock-eyed ideas, reservation will come into effect. Basically what this entails is increasing the number of students without increasing financial aid to universities, it also involves reserving seats for certain communities based on a hopelessly outmoded system that serves the political interests of a few more than the general well-being of the nation.
You could consider this a dumb rant of one of a disillusioned youth, but hey, I just call it as I see it. What I see is a country going down the crapper because a few in power can’t se beyond their hairy fucking arses and while those few debate on how to increase the public perception of science in the country, millions wait, qualified and willing but unemployed.
3 comments:
im writing this comment becoz i caught myself nodding along with ur entire article. its all very true, n put out in a succinct manner. great work!
i truly agree with your views. great post!!!
@zara
@garg
thank you
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