The science behind Sciences

Maharaj K. Pandit

A large majority of students in India wish to pursue science courses at senior secondary level, but in the past decade or so the trend of offering science as a major at the undergraduate level has taken a back seat. Commerce and, to an extent, Humanities have emerged as the favourite choices of students in the 21st century. This proclivity is clearly reflected in the sky-rocketing cut offs in Commerce and Humanities streams at some of the best Indian universities. 

Contrastingly, the science stream courses have significantly lower cut offs (60-70 per cent) and many a time a number of seats remain vacant for a full academic year. The situation has deteriorated further even as the students who enroll in science courses drop out to seek admission in the so-called ‘professional courses’. These courses, too, are more often than not marred by poor academic and training standards with inadequate teaching and infrastructure facilities.  

Plenty of choice

There seems some turnaround and hopefully the disinterest in Science stream may be short-lived. A plethora of new disciplines and inter-disciplinary programmes are available nowadays in this stream. With an allround economic turnaround and increasing investments in education and research, students pursuing courses in natural sciences are likely to emerge as winners in the long run. 

Students who wish to have a career in life sciences can opt for disciplines such as agriculture, bio-technology, food technology, pharmacy, microbiology, and environmental sciences. Those with major interest in mathematics can opt for information technology, actuarial science, nanotechnology, photonics, architecture, and multi-media and robotics. 

Besides, students with science background have an added advantage of being eligible to appear in the Indian Forest Services, and Indian Statistical Services examinations if they wish to go for the Civil Services.  Additionally, science graduates can, at any time, opt to switch to Humanities and Social Sciences streams and opt for economics, law and management courses.  

Thus, science subjects spanning across physical, life and earth and environmental sciences today offer broad career choices to undergraduates. There are several reasons why students should choose science domain subjects. The most important of these is that science as a discipline is structured in a manner that instills a sense of logical thinking and inquiry into nature of things and how they work. 

While basic sciences lay emphasis on theoretical understanding of various subjects, the practices connected with these concepts have laid foundation for what have come to be known as ‘application sciences’, which are related to technology. We must, however, bear in mind that there is hardly any science that wouldn’t find an application today or tomorrow. 

In fact, all good science ends up mothering some application or technology. Be it physics, chemistry, biology, earth sciences, mathematics, and in recent decades the environmental sciences, a plethora of new disciplines have developed out of these parent domains. In the Indian context where the societal choices — of parents and their wards — were almost binary in terms of Engineering and Medicine, it would not be an exaggeration to suggest that students today may be spoilt for choice. The range of options are not only in terms of disciplines they want to pursue, but also in tertiary institutions. 

A word of caution

However, a word of caution for the aspiring young graduates is in place here. Young students must not succumb to grandiose advertisement campaigns of such institutions which are merely out to make a quick buck. A couple of serious questions that students and their parents need to ask before enrolling at such institutions in the name of fancy sounding course titles are:  Is the institution serious and capable of delivering what it promises? And does it have the necessary wherewithal to match its claims? If the answer to these questions is yes, then they can go ahead. But if there is any doubt, then they must think twice as a large number of graduates from such institutions find themselves ill-equipped either for further academics or for the job market. The main point is that if you earn a good degree then job should take care of itself. 

What to look for

So what should the young undergraduates look at in sciences as a career option? Students opting for science subjects need to be aware of demands and needs of the modern world and equip themselves accordingly. For instance, more trained manpower in the emerging areas of nano-sciences and nuclear sciences will be in high demand in physical sciences. Physical science majors may choose either one or both disciplines of chemistry and physics. Students interested in physical sciences can become astronomers or astrophysicists, nuclear scientists and nuclear energy operators and managers, aerospace operators, precision instrument and equipment specialists, alternate energy solutions, forensic scientists, quantitative and synthetic chemists, drug discoverers, etc. 

Likewise, in biological sciences the enormous career choices range from human health managers, researchers, agricultural biotechnologists to environmental science researchers, developmental ecologists to environmental and global warming advocacy specialists.  

— The writer is Director, CISMHE, University of Delhi.

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Top  Science colleges

The Indian Institute of Science Education & Research (IISER), Mohal
www.iisermohali.ac.in/
Course: BS-MS Dual Degree Program 
Cut-off: Merit in joint entrance test
USP:  With a faculty of 70, various programmes are being conducted along with cutting edge research in basic sciences.

DAV College, Sector 10, Chandigarh
www.davchd.com
Seats: BSc. (Med., Non-Med., B.Sc. (Hons) Bio-Informatics - 25 ;  B.Sc. (Hons) Bio-Technology -  25
Cut off: 70 per cent
USP: The college offers a range of science courses especially in biotechnology, bioinformatics etc in the region.

PG Government College For Girls, Sector 42, Chandigarh
www.gcg42.ac.in
Cut off: Biotechnology ( General Pool: over 80 per cent) 
USP: First city-government college to start PG course in science. 

Government Mohindra College, Patiala
www.mohindracollege.in
Seats: 240 (BSc medi and non-med)
Cut off: 60 per cent
USP: The Recognised as “Star College in Life Sciences" by Ministry of Science and Technology. 

Government College, Ludhiana
www.scdgovtcollege.org
Seats: BSc Med (120), Non Med (180)
Cut off: 60-65 per cent
USP: One of the oldest colleges in Punjab. The college has departments of physics, chemistry, zoology, botany and industrial microbiology. 

All-India Jat Heroes Memorial College, Rohtak
www.jatcollegerohtak.org
Seats: BSc (non-medical) - 1200
Cut off : 60 to 70 per cent
USP: In its 11th plan, the University UGC has marked it as College with Potential for Excellence. 

(Based on selected lists from India Today, Outlook and other surveys)