Arts, Commerce, Science | Cover Story

Now that you have cleared your School Leaving Certificate with flying colours, its time to make a choice of what to study next. Your personal interests, future plans and the person you will be, all depends on the choice you make now. Take our quiz to see which course suits your personality and interest best. And if you think this is hard, well this is just the beginning.

A school is a:
A. Business - 2
B. Educational centre - 1
C. Life skills teacher - 3

How would you best describe your brain?
A. Logical and technical - 1
B. Fast and receptive - 2
C. Creative and free thinking - 3

How good are you with numbers?
A. Great, I can multiply 4 digit numbers in my head - 2
B. I'm average, I know the multiplication tables up to 12 - 1
C. What's 7 times 5 again? - 3

Out of these people, whose works have you read?
A. Francis Fukuyama - 2
B. Stephen Hawkins - 1
C. Laxmi Prasad Devkota - 3
How good are you at languages?
A. I can master any language, just give me a good teacher, a good book and enough time. - 3
B. I like languages but struggle constantly with the words and grammar. - 2
C. I can speak Nepali and English, what more do I need? - 1

In school, your favourite subject was?
A. Chemistry - 1
B. Economics - 2
C. English/Nepali - 3

Out of the following, which would you rather be?
A. A chemist - 1
B. Clerk - 2
C. Telemarketer - 3

Which of these Nepalis are you most familiar with?
A. Pallav Ranjan - 3
B. Anil Shah - 2
C. Dr Tirtha Man Maskey - 1

Scoring:
Most 3s – You're great with people and languages, you'll do great in the Arts and Humanities. Go to Artistic freedom
Most 2s – You've got a mind for numbers, best off in Commerce. Go to ManiaManagement Mania
Most 1s – Can't any more scientific than you. Science is your best bet. Go to Er or Dr?

In the +2 education system of Nepal, you have a narrow choice in your subject options. There's science, commerce and the dreaded arts. Students mostly prefer the science and commerce streams but if you're good at language, interested in the humanities and good with people, then the arts are for you. Now, after your go at our quiz, it is up to us to suggest arts for you.

People still think that the arts are for weaker students and that if you don't get a proper grade in your SLCs, then the arts are for you. WAVE disagrees and so do many of the colleges we talked to. We believe that arts are for people who understand themselves and seek to understand the world around them. That means that you're basically fixed on what you want to do in the future and have already developed a distinct choice in the subjects you're about to take. You're probably looking forward to a career in journalism, education, travel agencies or in NGOs.

"In India, there are people who have secured 90% on their exams who are opting for the arts stream," says Nikesh Dahal, a student of North Point, Darjeeling. The arts are for people who desire to learn through the understanding process. He further adds, "At St. Joseph's, there are very good students who are taking arts and I personally don't think that arts are for weak students."

When taking the arts stream, students have to choose from a wide array of subjects like hotel management, marketing, travel and tourism, computer, sociology, mass communication, etc. in addition to other optional subjects. In arts, students have to develop skills in dealing with people, presentation, and reporting. They need to have people skills and should be interested in public relations and society. Students who are shy and have a hard time mingling with people might find it difficult . Students who go for arts have a bigger social and financial space. They have a broader horizon as they have the freedom to go into various different fields. They are able to pursue almost anything in their lives.

"Art students understand themselves more and they can assess what they are and what they can do," says LP Sharma, principal of Orient College. Art students get as much priority as students studying science and commerce, so students need not worry about getting left behind in college. Art is a subject that brings out the true potential in you, a subject that helps you understand society better. Arts is a leading subject, all that it lacks is awareness, people have to understand that arts is not just for people who are not good at studies. Ajay Kumar Yadav of DAV College says, "In DAV college, art students don't just get knowledge from the books that they read, they also learn moral values that help them become better people."

Students who study the arts are independent; they do not lean on other people. They do what they think is right and succeed in doing just that. When it comes to money, Krishna P. Dotel of St. Lawrence Higher Secondary School says, "Art students can definitely earn money. Entrepreneurship is higher in arts. Art students don't want to work under other people. They want to take the lead."

The commerce stream is just the right option for you. You are good at interacting with different kinds of people, i.e. you know how to handle and satisfy the needs of people from different backgrounds. More importantly you are a team player, a person who is not only comfortable but enjoys working with other people. One doesn't have to be good at mathematics to join this stream, but it does help. These characteristics are vital to your future success as a manager, owner or employee or any other commerce related work.

One normally needs 50% aggregate to get admission in this stream. However, some school/college may require higher than this. In this stream, English, accountancy and sometimes Nepali are compulsory subjects. Then you have to choose two or more subjects from the optional subjects available at that particular school or college. These optional subjects may vary from one school to another. Some of those choices are: - hotel management course, economics, mathematics, BOOM, and computer (informatics practice). Most schools allow you to drop Nepali in grade 12 and some schools may add a new course/subject in grade 12 like business studies.

Some of you might worry that you haven't taken accounts/economics as your optional subjects when you were in class 10. You don't have to worry about it. All these subjects are taught from the basic points in grade 11.

Economics is for those who have a good memory and for those who are good at sketching. This subject or field requires one to be good at remembering the different laws, advantages and disadvantages of these laws and drawing a lot of graphs and pie charts. Mathematics is and always has been for those who are not only good at numbers but who enjoy handling different kinds of problems related to numbers.

Computers are not for those who love to chat and only chat online. It is for those who are curious and want to learn how programs are created and want to be able to do it themselves but in a better way. Business Studies is for those who are patient and have a thick skin. Having a thick skin means a person who is not offended by other people's remarks. After all a businessperson has to hear lots of remarks from their competitors and customers.

After completing grade 12, one again has lots of options to choose from: - B.B.A (Bachelor in Business Administration), B.B.S (Bachelor in Business Studies), C.A (Chartered Accountancy), B.M (Bachelor in Management) or PhD in any of the subjects or one can also take the one-two year courses which are now available in many colleges. These courses may include small business management, retail management and bartending. There are lots of career options in this field and it is one of the most rewarding fields available to a person. One can go on to become a shopkeeper, accountant, receptionist, teacher or manager. While others can go on to become a business man-small or large (depends on your determination and skill), owner of a hotel or a chain of hotels, software/hardware engineer, mathematician and chartered accountant.

"Disticntion lyayau?...Teso bhae science padhne hola haina ta?" This is a stereotypical comment that many hear, fresh after crossing the 'iron gate'. Studying science is sometimes taken for granted for anyone who has secured decent grades in his SLCs. But what parents and many others do not realise is that the distinction in SLC is not going to sail you smoothly through college. What they forget to take into account is the interest of the student. Studying to please your parents, the society or anyone else but yourself is nothing but foolishness on your part.

In the Nepali +2 education system (HSEB), the subject choices are not much flexible. You need to take the subjects that are set by the colleges, no questions asked. But in some institutions, some flexibility is seen. All students need to study the basic compulsory subjects: English, Nepali and math but science is broadly classified into two groups – the physics group and the biology group. "There is no point in burdening the students with a subject if they are already sure about what they want to do later on in life and don't really need that subject" says Lok Nath Wasti of Prasadi College, "If a student is sure he wants to get into the engineering field in the future, we do not believe in forcing him to study biology." But these choices are found only in some of the colleges and not all.

If you want to pursue a career in engineering, you can join the physics group. It consists of the subjects physics, chemistry, mathematics, English and computer. Computer acts as a substitute for Biology because biology is not really required in the engineering field. In the second year, hate it or love it, you will have to take up Nepali. In order to accommodate Nepali, the students can usually drop computer in the second year but it is not mandatory to do so.

For those hoping to find a place in the medical field, you will have to opt for the biology group. Biology is an essential subject for medicine and therefore the subjects include biology, physics, chemistry, English and mathematics. In the second year, Nepali is a compulsory subject and students usually drop mathematics to take it up. But the students of both physics or the biology group need to have at least five subjects.

"The students of commerce and humanities also need to work hard but science students need to work a little bit harder because the course itself is a bit challenging" says Sheela Singh, director of National College. Most colleges only accept students who have secured first division in the SLC and some colleges take students with up to 60% in the SLC. Science is a technical subject and a technical background can be beneficial for the student no matter which line of work they wish to follow in the future. There are many speculations that the science students can easily cope with commerce if they wish to take up commerce in the future. This may not always be the case and almost always, depends on the student.

It is not necessary that you sail smoothly through the commerce course just because of a science background. There will surely be things that you will not have had studied or have any idea about including BOOM, economics and accounts. Your performance still depends on your hard work. "Most people have a misconception that the scope of science is quite narrow," says Lok Bahadur Shrestha, Managing Director of Xavier International College, commenting on the 'science padhe ki ta doctor ki ta engineer' stereotype. "There are many other fields for science students other than these two". The numerous other opportunities for science students include bio-technology, agriculture and physiotherapy, to name a few.

So, why +2 science and not other courses? Scientific laws and theories do not change with the different courses. But the approach is different in the various courses. The +2 course and the ISc courses are not that much different. But according to the colleges we've talked to, the government is focussed more on the +2 course and the ISc course seems to be in the phase of fading away. Many complain that +2 is not duly updated. As a reply to this, most of the colleges say that the +2 science course may not be quite frequently updated, but it is updated from time to time. Another common misconception is that +2 is for those who plan to stay in Nepal after their graduation. For the herds of youngsters seeking to study abroad, there's no need to worry. According to the colleges we've talked to, most of the students study abroad even from +2.

For aspiring engineers and doctors, Pulchok, Teaching and many other universities, within the country, are also very good choices for further education. So before you make a choice find out what you're up for. Think about the options you have because there are a lot of colleges offering +2 sciences and make your decision for yourself, not for anyone else.

1. Amar nepal, Now in malaysia
i like this.

Posted on: 31 JULY 2008 | 11:30 PM NST | Report Abuse