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The prospects of getting jobs and campus placements have made vocational courses in Patna University popular among students compared to traditional subjects.
Almost all colleges under the university offer undergraduate vocational courses. Most institutions have announced dates for entrance exams to these courses. (See chart)
While most of the examinations are scheduled in June and July, Patna Women’s College has conducted admission tests to its courses — BCA, BSc (industrial microbiology), BBA and bachelors degree in communicative English.
“Vocational courses like BBA, BCA and BSc in biotechnology are very popular among students,” said Patna University (PU) dean of science U.K. Sinha.
“The number of applications for these courses are nearly five to 10 times the number of available seats.”
Sinha said high job prospects attracted students to the vocational courses. “In the two job fairs organised by the university this year (in January and April), many students of vocational courses were recruited.”
Principals of colleges corroborated Sinha’s claim.
Dolly Sinha, principal, Magadh Mahila College, said: “Courses like BCA and BBA are very popular at our institution. Some of the major recruiters of students pursuing these courses are Wipro, Infosys and TCS.” The placement packages that these students bag range between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 2.5 lakh per annum.
Anjali Singh, who has applied for the BCA course at Magadh Mahila College, said: “Good job prospects are, of course, a great incentive for pursuing vocational courses. Also, if I have a BCA, it will be easier for me to get admission to the MCA course.”
Some of the other popular courses on offer are BA (mass communication). Aspiring journalists can apply to 60 seats for the course at Patna College.
Another popular course is the three-year BSc in environmental science. There is a huge demand for students who earn this degree, as no industrial project would get clearance from the pollution control board and environment and forests department without the go-ahead of an environmental scientist.