Parents push children to join vocational courses

London: Most university students in UK do not take the subject they want to but get themselves enrolled for the courses which their parents ask them to pursue, a new study claims.

The survey of 350 students, all of whom were under 25 and studying full-time, suggested that one in four students at the varsity were "forced" to join the particular course by their parents. The researchers at University of Westminster found that due to high cost of education and unstable economic status, many parents take a hands-on approach to their children`s education and encourage them to join vocational classes. Almost half were told to "make the choice that their family thought best for them" and 85 per cent of these were dissatisfied with what they were studying, the survey said. A law-student told the researchers that she had wanted to study English literature but was forced to study law by her parents, a news daily reported. "I wish I was stronger and had gone ahead with my choice. I am now so unhappy as law is so difficult and something I am just not interested in it," she said. Twenty six percent claimed they had argued with their parents over the subject they wanted to take, the study added. Stating that he was not impressed by the research, National Union of Students (NUS) vice president for Higher Education, Aaron Porter, advised the parents that "it`s time for helicopter parents to take flight and students to take charge of their own futures". PTI