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Patna, April 12: Rupali Gupta (22) had a difficult time deciding which course to opt for after clearing her Intermediate exams in arts stream three years ago.
Rupali’s worry, however, was short-lived as she got selected for the bachelor in advertisement sales and promotion course in Patna Women’s College.
“I grew up thinking that I will do something different. However, the avenues narrowed as I opted for my Intermediate programme in arts. I wanted to focus on a proper career option and thought it is better to opt for a vocational course rather than go for a mainstream subject,” she said.
It did not take her too long to realise the difference. “The kind of exposure we get in vocational courses, the traditional courses can never offer. I also received practical experience from the internships I undertook. All this would certainly add to my curriculum vitae,” she said.
Amisha Gupta, her sister, who is also pursuing the same course, has her reasons to be happy. “In my first year, I did my internship with Tata Indicom. It has given me an advantage of having some work experience. Besides, our college also organises workshops on a regular basis which helps us get acquainted with various aspects of advertising,” she said.
Presently accredited A+ + by NAAC, Patna Women’s College, runs many vocational courses, including bachelor of computer applications, bachelor of advertising and sales management, BSc in industrial microbiology, postgraduation diploma in computer applications, post graduation diploma in advertisement and sales management, bachelor of mass communication, post graduate diploma in fashion designing, bachelor of communicative English with media studies, bachelor of business administration and BEd. Experts agree that vocational courses open career avenues for students. “The quickest way to get a job is to opt for vocational courses. In the recent past, there has been here a craze for vocational courses. More students opt for them than the mainstream courses,” said Dolly Sinha, the principal of Magadh Mahila College.
Renu Ranjan, the head of sociology department of Magadh Mahila College, said: “Post graduation diploma in child and welfare has been a hit in the past few years. The main reason is probably because the course is more focussed on applications rather than theories. Look at communicative English course today, it is often a more viable option than mainstream English literature course.”
Ranjan pointed out that communicative paper should be a part of every vocational course as “that helps students prepare for future challenges”.
Dolly Sinha said students opting for regular courses end up investing a lot of time on theories and do not get any practical experience. “Because the mainstream courses demand a lot of efforts and time from the students, it often doesn’t help students with career choices,” she said, adding that she receives more applications for vocational courses than regular courses.
Last year, Magadh Mahila sold around 500 forms for the 80 seats in BCA, 2000 forms for self-financing course (BCom) which has 200 seats and 350 for BBA which has only 60 seats. Magadh Mahila College offers bachelor of computer applications, BCom in self-financing, Bachelor of social work, PG diploma in computer applications, PG diploma in women and child welfare, PG diploma in population education.