Girls take to research, boys professional courses

Aarti Kapur

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 11

The annual academic census for the last three academic sessions beginning from 2011 at Panjab University shows regular increase in the number of girls going in for Master degree courses and PhD while boys are opting for professional courses.

As per the census, 70 per cent girls are taking admissions in humanities or science courses offered on the campus and in some of the departments, the enrolments touch 90 per cent. 

A majority of girls have applied for teaching jobs while boys are looking for professional positions in IT, engineering and marketing.

In 2013-14, the biochemistry department saw 28 girls registering themselves for PhD, compared to just three boys. In the UILS, the number of girls was 80 and boys 104. Similarly in the psychology department, 23 girls enrolled for PhD, compared to just one boy. On the same lines, the zoology department had 39 girls and nine boys enrolled for PhD. The last three years census shows similar trend in the humanities and science department of the PU.

PU UIPS chairman Bhupinder Singh Bhoop said there were many reasons for this trend. Notwithstanding their professional capabilities and modern outlook, a majority of girl aspirants, therefore looked for those options inviting better matrimonial alliances and allowing them the flexibility to look after their pressing domestic chores. Research and teaching career, accordingly, allured and suited them the most he said. 

In fact, the ratio of girls in master courses is higher than the boys as it leads to their enrolment in M.Phil and PhD.

The data obtained from the university reveals that the ratio of girls in the biotechnology department in 2013-14 is more than 70 per cent as there are 23 girls and eight boys admitted there and in chemistry, 40 girls and 14 boys have taken admission.

Sailing in the same boat are the humanities departments, for economics masters, 95 girls and 25 boys took admission in 2013-14 and in political science, 37 girls and 31 boys had got themselves enrolled. While the trend in the psychology department changed in 2013-14, as the number of boys that took admission was 64 and the girls eight whereas in 2012-13, there were 62 girls and seven boys. 

PU sociology professor Rajesh Gill, who is also a guide for the research scholars, said that in the 80s, girls choice was to go for teaching then in the 90s their priority changed to medical profession but in the 21st century they were looking for those courses which helped them enroll in research. Referring to her last 20 years career as a guide of the scholars, Gill said she could count only three to four research scholars who actually wanted to do research work. 

Contrary to the girls, professional courses on the campus are the main attraction of boy students. Barring three professional courses on the campus, girls are more than boys. 

More than 90 per cent of the boys were enrolled in the University Institute of Hotel Management and Tourism in 2013-14. Of these, 42 were boys and three girls. 

In the University Institute of Legal Studies in 2013-14, there were 104 boys and 80 girls.

PU Dean Student Welfare (women) Nandita Singh said one of the reasons why girls were more into the teaching profession rather than in professional courses was that the families were not ready to pay hefty fee for the professional courses while the pure humanities and sciences were offered for lesser fee in the educational institutes. “Though the scenario is changing in the education institutes of the metropolitan cities but there is not much change in smaller cities of the country” said Nandita, adding that she had also raised the vital issue in her paper on women in higher education which she wrote recently.