Rush for arts & sciences

Last year 6,000 students bought application forms for various undergraduate courses from Ethiraj College for Women, Egmore. But this year the number went up to 7,200 on day one (Monday).

The Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda College at Mylapore too witnessed a similar trend with an increase of about 25 per cent (around 2,000).

Prof. A. Nirmala, principal of Ethiraj College, says several top IT companies recruit students from arts & science colleges, which make candidates apply for these colleges rather than pursuing engineering courses. “There is an increased level of awareness among students about various options available for employment and higher studies in arts & science stream, which too could have driven this rise,” she said.

T. Sriram, a candidate who was seen busy buying application form at Vivekananda College, said science courses like B.Sc (Physics) and B.Sc (Maths) gave more returns (salary) with less investment (fees) whereas engineering programmes had less returns with high investment.

“I will pay less than Rs 1,000 per year as fees for B.Sc (Physics) in the government stream, which is less than Rs 40,000 in an engineering college. When I get a job in an IT company I may get a pay ranging from Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000, which might be the same for an engineering graduate from a third grade college,” he said.

Prof. K. Srinivasan, the college principal, pointed out that for several years B.Com remained the most sought after course among students as they got a job immediately and they had various options thereon to pursue higher studies or join a company. Several other arts & science colleges in the city will start issuing application forms this week.