Kathmandu: The world today is ever-changing and that, too, at such a fast pace that one has to open one’s shoes and run along in order to catch up with the latest trends and happenings. One doesn’t even realise how fast childhood goes by and its time to choose your career path.

Decisions are to be made. But are your decisions entirely yours? Won’t your parents, your peers, the society play an important role in your career planning? So what now? As SLC exams are already over, students as well as parents are getting all worried about what stream to choose for further studies. For ages science has been touted as the best option. The reason behind this: since childhood, we have been instilled with the idea that a profession of a medical doctor or an engineer is paid higher resulting in higher status in the society. But in recent years, the notion is changing. Management has emerged as the lucrative choice. An MBA degree adds a star to one’s collar. Whilst such trends are gaining greater and greater ground, Arts or humanities has definitely grabbed a firm backseat. Let’s look into the matter more deeply and analyse why this field of study is not getting what it deserves.

It is widely believed that doctors, engineers and scientists are the ones who build a nation. Don’t philosophers, teachers and political analysts play an equally important part in the same? On being inquired about the number of students being enrolled each year in every stream, some of the best schools of Nepal admitted that science is indeed the most preferred followed by commerce. Suniti Malhotra, coordinator, Modern Indian School, says that science is but of course the most sought after course in her school. “A few talented students opt for science and the rest go for commerce. The students feel that studying humanities will not help them in future unless they are preparing to study in India,” she quotes.

“Science is a very stereotypical subject. It requires a lot of hard work and labour. One cannot manage time and devote time to other things when you are studying science. I would rather work towards the development of the nation and thus serve world humanity,” says Krishma Sharma, a first year student of Development Studies in National College for Development Studies. She made a decision to shift from Commerce to Arts and aspires to be a part of the UNO in future. On the other hand, Suvekshya Bhandari currently doing her BBA from Little Angels College of Management believes that commerce was always the best option for her since management is required in every organisation. “Management is a global subject and science is universal,” she has her own definition. She adds, “Studying management would make me more practical.” She has plans to acquire an MBA degree and then join a manufacturing industry.

Another important factor here would be the difficulty faced by science students in order to get admissions into the premier Medical or Engineering colleges. One either has to be very rich in order to pay the huge amount of fees or should have an extraordinary talent to acquire a scholarship. So, where will the average students go? They have to change their stream and this does lead to a lot of disappointments and depression. According to Mitali Sharma presently doing her Bachelors in Rural Development: “It takes five to seven years to get an MBBS degree and then you have to start with a job in a government hospital which hardly pays you enough salary. It will thus take 20-25 years to become a reputed doctor and pay back for all the money and hard work that goes onto becoming one.” She believes that in Nepal there is immense scope in the social sector.

Anup Thapa, assistant manager, Food and Beverage, Hotel De’l Annapurna, says that amongst all the fields of study, science is the most technical; commerce the widest and arts the most motivating and encouraging. Arts, according to him, gives one a better understanding in terms of social uplift and awareness. He says, “A science student has the options of switching to any other field but this is not possible for an arts or commerce student. An arts student cannot choose to be a doctor.”

Thus, to be or not to be is entirely an individual’s choice. While choosing a career, one should not only look at the monetary and popularity aspects but also should look at how one can serve humanity and make this world a better place to live in.