‘Girls opt for career in entertainment’

Chennai: Engineering and technology turned out to be the most sought after program among students, a report on online career counselling conducted by Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) said.

CII had done online counselling for 1,200 students in seven private schools in Chennai last month.

The report was released during the Tamil Nadu principal conference on Wednesday by P.A. Naresh, joint director, state school education department.

Among 1,200 students, 200 preferred engineering and technology, 191 opted for medicine and healthcare, 65 agriculture and food, 29 journalism and 28 police. Of those who wanted to get admitted to engineering, 74 per cent were boys and in medicine, 71 per cent were girls.

An interesting revelation in the report is that 60 per cent of girl students prefer a career in entertainment.

CII along with a private company conducted this online counselling for the first time as a pilot project this year, said Thangam Meganathan, convenor, CII’s TN Education Panel, and Chairperson, Rajalakshmi Engineering College.

Prof.N. Sethuraman, registrar, SRM University said that existing teachers need to be trained properly to address the issue of lack of good quality teachers.

Students who aspire to get into career in engineering and technology need to improve their skills in analytical thinking, hands-on ability and adaptability, the report said.

About 150 heads of schools from various parts of the state took part in the meeting and discussed how to develop thinking skills among students, besides enhancing life skills.

They also discussed about RTE, infrastructure and issues involved in faculty empowerment.