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Parents, wake up for God`s sake
By: Mohit Shankar Tewari``Mera beta engineer banega
By: Mohit Shankar Tewari
``Mera beta engineer banega", ``main to apne bete ko pilot banuonga". These are the common remarks that one would hear in any Indian household. Cliched but true.
If one carefully examines these remarks, the conclusion will be simple. These are social aspirations. The idea is to rise up the social ladder and attain a certain status through children. This may well be fuelling the growth of unemployed youth. This breed is growing by leaps and bounds. The situation is alarming, especially in the smaller towns.
It`s now or never for the parents of 21st century. Instead of forcing a profession on a child, the time has come to check out whether the poor child has the aptitude for it or not. In the West, I am told, aptitude tests are done in class 7 or 8. The results of these tests become the basis for choosing a profession. Be it a mason, carpenter or may be a motor mechanic.
In India, though, these kind of professions have a so-called low status in the society. The society cares two hoots about them. Parents retort ``Kya hum apne bacche ko padha likha kar badhai banainge". Accepted. But isn`t self employment better than sitting idle and waiting for a white-collar job (which may never come)? Even if parents are society animals, then also they should realise that sitting idle is a bigger social stigma than being in a ``low status" profession. Ask any unemployed, he will vouch for that.
No wonder in a common household, the alibi for doing nothing is `` entrance exam ki tayyari ho rahi hai". That this ``tayyari`` may eventually lead to frustration, is a different issue altogether.
This brings me to the issue of the education system. Instead of debating ``bhagwakaran" for scoring brownie points, the politicians will do a yeoman service (they owe at least one ) to the society by propagating vocational education and aptitude tests. At least, this will stop one traditional ritual that every youth performs- IIT, medical entrance after class 12; trying to get into a bank or an management institute after graduation and then indulging in the national pastime of Civil Services. At the end of the ritual, most aspirants realise that apart from wasting time, they are empty handed. In this exercise most are trying to fulfil their parents` dream, rather than their own. It`s debatable whether they have one as since childhood parents would have drilled their own into their mind. Solution. In the current situation ITI education seems best. Cheap home loans have fuelled construction activity. Then why can one not become a mason and live a decent life? The same holds true for carpenters too. Then, if one doesn`t want to be a mason or a carpenter in his own land, opportunites are there in other countries, where profession is not the only determinant of status. Every year 5 lakh cars are sold in India. It`s not that these cars will remain trouble free forever. So here comes motor mechanic. Take ITI training, work in garage, earn a decent earning and stand up on your own feet. Come on parents, start respecting work or else don`t crib that crime is on the rise or there are no jobs for kids. Howling for jobs and reservation doesn`t work. The onus, now, is on you parents. It`s you who can change the psyche.
``Mera beta engineer banega", ``main to apne bete ko pilot banuonga". These are the common remarks that one would hear in any Indian household. Cliched but true.
If one carefully examines these remarks, the conclusion will be simple. These are social aspirations. The idea is to rise up the social ladder and attain a certain status through children. This may well be fuelling the growth of unemployed youth. This breed is growing by leaps and bounds. The situation is alarming, especially in the smaller towns.
It`s now or never for the parents of 21st century. Instead of forcing a profession on a child, the time has come to check out whether the poor child has the aptitude for it or not. In the West, I am told, aptitude tests are done in class 7 or 8. The results of these tests become the basis for choosing a profession. Be it a mason, carpenter or may be a motor mechanic.
In India, though, these kind of professions have a so-called low status in the society. The society cares two hoots about them. Parents retort ``Kya hum apne bacche ko padha likha kar badhai banainge". Accepted. But isn`t self employment better than sitting idle and waiting for a white-collar job (which may never come)? Even if parents are society animals, then also they should realise that sitting idle is a bigger social stigma than being in a ``low status" profession. Ask any unemployed, he will vouch for that.
No wonder in a common household, the alibi for doing nothing is `` entrance exam ki tayyari ho rahi hai". That this ``tayyari`` may eventually lead to frustration, is a different issue altogether.
This brings me to the issue of the education system. Instead of debating ``bhagwakaran" for scoring brownie points, the politicians will do a yeoman service (they owe at least one ) to the society by propagating vocational education and aptitude tests. At least, this will stop one traditional ritual that every youth performs- IIT, medical entrance after class 12; trying to get into a bank or an management institute after graduation and then indulging in the national pastime of Civil Services. At the end of the ritual, most aspirants realise that apart from wasting time, they are empty handed. In this exercise most are trying to fulfil their parents` dream, rather than their own. It`s debatable whether they have one as since childhood parents would have drilled their own into their mind. Solution. In the current situation ITI education seems best. Cheap home loans have fuelled construction activity. Then why can one not become a mason and live a decent life? The same holds true for carpenters too. Then, if one doesn`t want to be a mason or a carpenter in his own land, opportunites are there in other countries, where profession is not the only determinant of status. Every year 5 lakh cars are sold in India. It`s not that these cars will remain trouble free forever. So here comes motor mechanic. Take ITI training, work in garage, earn a decent earning and stand up on your own feet. Come on parents, start respecting work or else don`t crib that crime is on the rise or there are no jobs for kids. Howling for jobs and reservation doesn`t work. The onus, now, is on you parents. It`s you who can change the psyche.