Jul 18 2014 : The Economic Times (Delhi)
GENERAL AWAKENING - Political Science A Big Draw Among Students Aspiring for Civil Services
ANUMEHA CHATURVEDI
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NEW DELHI
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Ranchi resident Shruti Das had been patiently waiting for Delhi University's (DU's) premier college Lady Shri Ram (LSR) to release its first cut-off list for political science honours. Das, fixated on the course, had been tracking DU cut-offs for the past few years.With a 96.75%, she hoped to get through, as by her calculation, the college would increase the percentage figure by about 1.5% to 2% only once every two years. LSR's cut-off for political science shot to 97% this year from 95.25% last year. At 97%, the cut-off for political science at the college is almost at par with the other popular DU course, BCom honours which was pegged at 97.5%.
In the history of LSR, the difference between these two distinctly different courses, hasn't been lesser, and with both commerce and science students vying for political science, the top scorer getting admitted here is a non-humanities student with 99.3%.
“We got many students from streams other than humanities like science and commerce.
They feel studying political science would give them a holistic understanding of Indian society and politics in order to become world citizens and would hone skills for pursuing careers in civil services, law and management later,“ said Dr Krishna Menon, associate professor, department of political science, LSR.
Students and faculty members at Delhi University and other Indian institutions are amazed at the rising demand for a bachelors in political science. Rising general awareness due to this year's general elections and a participatory approach among the youth on governance and political issues, a desire to pursue civil services and journalism have all contributed to a significant demand for the course.
Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi has received 1,600 applications for a total of 400 seats this year. The institute usually gets around 800 applications. “The demand has caught us by surprise, and it'll be tough admitting students. This year's elections have been historic and have been led by the youth, and Narendra Modi's political campaigning and elevation as prime minister (Modi has studied political science) over economist Manmohan Singh, could have also piqued the interest of students for the course,“ said professor Kaushal Kishore Mishra, head of department, department of political science, BHU.
In spite of the steep cut-offs almost matching other popular options like BCom Honors and Economics, the surge in demand for the course has led DU colleges to expand seats and close admissions early on. Political science honors was closed in the very first list at Hindu and Kirori Mal College, while admissions for courses like Economics and BSc Mathematics were still on. Hindu has had to admit about 90 students for a total of 39 seats, Kirori Mal College 150 students on 59 seats, and Miranda House 90 students on 59 seats. “The demand was high in the reserved category as well. We had 11 OBC seats and got 22 candidates,“ said professor Ish Mishra from the department of political science at Hindu.
“There is a general awakening among the Indian youth around policies and politics, and they are interested in understanding and participating in issues of governance and corruption. The syllabus also prepares them for applying for competitive exams,“ said Dr Jaishree Pillai, associate professor for political science at Miranda House.
The DU curriculum according to Dr Rupak Dutta, an associate professor of political science at Kirori Mal College is appropriately updated and includes content on public administration, global politics and political economy.
“From an employability perspective, students are better equipped as compared to other social science courses,“ he says.
Demand for the course is also rising in South India, feels professor Ramu Manivannan, department of politics and public administration, at University of Madras. “There is huge interest among students wishing to study Political Science in southern regions, where the interest has usually been focused on technical science education. Students hope to get into public administration and civil services and consider political science to be a good platform,“ he says. University of Madras, which only offers post graduate programmes in the subject, has around 23 students under the MA honors course this year, up from 3 in 2009.
anumeha.chaturvedi@timesgroup.com
In the history of LSR, the difference between these two distinctly different courses, hasn't been lesser, and with both commerce and science students vying for political science, the top scorer getting admitted here is a non-humanities student with 99.3%.
“We got many students from streams other than humanities like science and commerce.
They feel studying political science would give them a holistic understanding of Indian society and politics in order to become world citizens and would hone skills for pursuing careers in civil services, law and management later,“ said Dr Krishna Menon, associate professor, department of political science, LSR.
Students and faculty members at Delhi University and other Indian institutions are amazed at the rising demand for a bachelors in political science. Rising general awareness due to this year's general elections and a participatory approach among the youth on governance and political issues, a desire to pursue civil services and journalism have all contributed to a significant demand for the course.
Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi has received 1,600 applications for a total of 400 seats this year. The institute usually gets around 800 applications. “The demand has caught us by surprise, and it'll be tough admitting students. This year's elections have been historic and have been led by the youth, and Narendra Modi's political campaigning and elevation as prime minister (Modi has studied political science) over economist Manmohan Singh, could have also piqued the interest of students for the course,“ said professor Kaushal Kishore Mishra, head of department, department of political science, BHU.
In spite of the steep cut-offs almost matching other popular options like BCom Honors and Economics, the surge in demand for the course has led DU colleges to expand seats and close admissions early on. Political science honors was closed in the very first list at Hindu and Kirori Mal College, while admissions for courses like Economics and BSc Mathematics were still on. Hindu has had to admit about 90 students for a total of 39 seats, Kirori Mal College 150 students on 59 seats, and Miranda House 90 students on 59 seats. “The demand was high in the reserved category as well. We had 11 OBC seats and got 22 candidates,“ said professor Ish Mishra from the department of political science at Hindu.
“There is a general awakening among the Indian youth around policies and politics, and they are interested in understanding and participating in issues of governance and corruption. The syllabus also prepares them for applying for competitive exams,“ said Dr Jaishree Pillai, associate professor for political science at Miranda House.
The DU curriculum according to Dr Rupak Dutta, an associate professor of political science at Kirori Mal College is appropriately updated and includes content on public administration, global politics and political economy.
“From an employability perspective, students are better equipped as compared to other social science courses,“ he says.
Demand for the course is also rising in South India, feels professor Ramu Manivannan, department of politics and public administration, at University of Madras. “There is huge interest among students wishing to study Political Science in southern regions, where the interest has usually been focused on technical science education. Students hope to get into public administration and civil services and consider political science to be a good platform,“ he says. University of Madras, which only offers post graduate programmes in the subject, has around 23 students under the MA honors course this year, up from 3 in 2009.
anumeha.chaturvedi@timesgroup.com
