Humanities, now a big draw among students

Experts say that, of late, a majority of the students are opting for humanity subjects like English Literature, History, Journalism and Visual communication. 

Educationalists opine, “There is a paradigm shift among students in the way college education is perceived.” 

“In the past three to four years, there seems to be a rise in demand for English Literature and History. 

Students don’t want to restrict themselves to the regular 9 am to 5 pm job. They want to take up various professions such as social work or be employed with the international institutions or try their luck in tourism sector,” said Dr A Nirmala, principal of Ethiraj college. “Students are selecting skill-based specialised courses. The course we offer in tourism and travel management is much sought after. Our post graduate course in human rights and duties seems to have caught on among many who want to have an edge over others in the job market,” she added. 

Communication streams, like journalism, visual communication and public relations have become popular among students in the last four years and an important part of the curriculum. Most of the colleges conduct entrance tests for these courses. 

Law is another stream that seems to be doing well. Chaitanya G, Marketing Head at SRM University said, “Many students in recent years have taken the Common Law Admission Test. “Though there were around 8,000 applicants for the law course last year, only 400 were selected. But, look at the number of applicants. This apart, visual communication has many applicants and the number of aspirants increases every year.” 

Students too are setting their eyes on less patronised courses so far. “I have seen a close relative of mine struggling with mental depression and that is when I decided to become a psychologist. I am planning to seek admission in B.Sc. Psychology,” said Divya Gupta, who just finished writing Class 12 examination.