Prince Anwar Shah Road: How do you choose which subject to pursue as a hobby and which one to take up a career - a Class XI student echoed the thoughts of most his age at a discussion on the two on Tuesday.
Aneesh Nag of Birla High School for Boys, who is equally interested in mathematics and literature, was attending a panel discussion on a book titled College: Pathways of Possibility at South City International School on Tuesday. Saikat Majumdar's book advocates not needing to give up one for the other but to be allowed to integrate and pursue "both" simultaneously.
Majumdar spoke not just about inter-disciplinary studies but the more "radical contra-disciplinary".
"Can you study computer science with literature? Can you study physics with philosophy instead of mathematics? If you look into yourself, you will find that many of you are already contra-disciplinary personalities. You love different things. You are asked to choose; you have to give up something. That is the sad part. We need to create systems where one can be contra-disciplinary," said the professor of English and creative writing at Ashoka University.
The discussion was moderated by Debanjan Chakrabarti, director of British Council in the east and Northeast.
Majumdar advocated a shift "from the consumption of knowledge to the production of knowledge".
"The current system is based primarily on how well you learn, how well you consume knowledge and exams test that. But you are never asked to produce new knowledge. The most difficult job is not to answer a question but to form a question of your own," he said.
Rupkatha Sarkar, the principal of La Martiniere for Girls and a member of the panel, presented another side to the problem. "Students do not want to study science as early as in Class VII or VIII and teachers have a tough time trying to convince them. They want to study subjects that will fetch them marks and a quick salary," she said.
Almost every panellist described the book as a must-read for all parents and teachers.
"If you (students) want to experience some liberty in the choice of subject in college make your parents read this book," said Sharmila Bose, the principal of Sushila Birla Girls' School.
Anuradha Das, the director of Garden High International School, stressed the need to keep options open. "It is not a matter of what you like now. A broad spectrum will give you the ability to go beyond choices that you make," she said.
Sonali Sen, the principal of Delhi Public School New Town, regretted that reading and researching had diminished and marks are based on "how you can learn of what has been told to you and how much you can produce on paper".
South City International School principal John Bagul, urged both parents and teachers to allow children to "follow their dream".
The event was organised by AHAVA Communications.
