`Vettri Nichayam' student's carrier programme
The 2,000-odd folders that were kept for distribution to the Xth and Plus Two students who had come for the career direction programme `Vettri Nichayam' were exhausted in as little a time as 30 minutes.The auditorium at the Coimbatore Institute of Technology and the surrounding grounds on the campus were teeming with large numbers of prospective college goers, some of whom had come with their parents an others who had come on their own.There were even parents without children who had come to attend the one-day programme on behalf of their wards.All of them were eager to listen to the experts who would give them an overview of the different career options available.At the end of the day they expected to make concrete career decisions that would make them choose the right course at the undergraduate level.
The programme - that was jointly organised by the Daily Thanthi and the Hindusthan Group of Institutions - saw an amazing response, mostly from the Plus Two students from Coimbatore and those who had come from the neighbouring districts.There was not an inch of vacant space inside the auditorium as the event got under way.In an informal address to the gathering, Collector Neeraj Mittal exhorted the students to pursue what they felt was right for them.
Quoting many instances from his student and professional life, he said: "Make the right choice for yourself. It is very difficult to choose; but you have to do it."There is always parental pressure. But you should make the ultimate choice."Only if you like something, can you pursue a career in it for a lifetime."
He shared with the teenagers his experience of how he had become an engineer due to pressure from his parents, but had chosen a career in a field (Indian Administrative Service) that was close to his heart."Do not force yourself to become something you do not like."Get to know the nature of a job before venturing out to pursue a related course. Also stay focussed on what you want to do."Do not take all competitive examinations."Choose the field and attempt only that examination and succeed in it," he told his listeners.
He also urged them to continue learning, irrespective of circumstances and age.Highlighting his own example, he told the students how he had completed a management degree and also a doctoral degree after he had completed eight years of service in the IAS.R. Dananjayan, Chief Circulation Manager of Daily Thanthi, Chennai, traced the developments that the daily had made over the years with respect to the field of education.
He spoke on the newspaper's thrust on promoting achievers in examinations by giving them cash purses.He advised the parents not to stifle the children with their personal likes and dislikes with respect to choice of course.The resource persons who addressed the students later on, dealt with opportunities available in the well-sought-after fields like engineering, medicine, information technology, hotel management, arts and science.They also spoke about opportunities in the not-so-sought-after fields like law, fashion technology, sports, civil services and the armed forces.The students got a potpourri of the available options in a single day under a single roof.To test whether they had absorbed what the experts had conveyed to them, a question and answer session was held at the end of the day and the most-attentive ones were given prizes.The students were made to realise that preparation for an act was as important as the act itself.
