‘Students’ abilities, values need to be tested for career choice’

‘Students’ abilities, values need to be tested for career choice’

Pune: The report of the statewide aptitude test conducted by the Shyamchi Aai Foundation (SAF) under the State Board of Education showed that majority of Std X students have inclination towards Fine Arts and Uniformed Services. However, the number of enrolments in these fields for higher education does not compliment the inclination reflected in the report.

“It is not just the interests, but students’ abilities and values also need to be tested, so as to help them make an informed career choice,” said city-based career counsellors. 

“At Prabodhini, along with their interests, we also test the students for their abilities and values required to sustain in the field of interest,” said Nilima Apte of Jnana Prabodhini Samshodhan Sanstha.

“Only having interest in a field is not enough. It is necessary to see if the student has the potential to make a career out of it. For example, if a student shows interest in research, along with interest and potential, it is also necessary to see if the child has the values of patience and passion. 

Aptitude tests are not limited to choosing career options, they are a means to facilitate the choice of a career,” Apte added.

The tests are thus not a correct representation of the students’ career choices. “From what I have seen, there are simple sentence completion tasks that ask of interest in drawing or watching films, etc. This might be the reason why every year, the interest of maximum students is seen in fine arts instead of many other fields that actually get admissions from the major chunk of students. The questions need to be more pin-point to ensure accurate results,” a city-based counsellor added.

Talking over the same, Sheetal Bapat, Founder Director of SAF, had said, “This year, the test also determined their aptitude and capabilities in the fields. Thus, even if a student has first preference for a particular field, he/she might not have the aptitude for it. We do not release that data to maintain students’ privacy. But, this might be the reason, if these numbers do not reflect in the subsequent admissions.”

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