GURGAON: Police services was the first choice of profession for boys between 14 and 18 years old in rural Haryana, while girls in the same age group opted for teaching, according to the Annual Status of Education report 2023.
The ASER 2023 Beyond Basics survey, released on Wednesday, was carried out in Sirsa in the state last year. A total of 1,472 students from 1,200 households across 60 villages were part of the survey that was conducted by students of Chaudhary Devi Lal University. The last time such a survey was carried out was in 2017.
The findings showed that 13.6% of male students wanted to join the police, followed by 12.4% who aspired to join the Army.
Among female students, one-fourth of those surveyed said they wanted to become teachers. In second place was police services, with 13.2% of the female respondents opting for it. Another 12.1% said they wanted to become doctors.
Contrary to boys, only 2.4% of the female students showed an interest in joining the Army.
Though joining the police was among the favourites for both genders, few students wanted to become Indian Police Services (IPS) officers after clearing UPSC exams. Only 0.4% of the male students said they would want to join the services as an IPS officer. At 4.3%, more female students were keen on trying for civil services.
On the survey’s deductions, head of Haryana State Lecturers’ Association Satpal Sindhu said there was lack of awareness among students, especially in rural areas, about the professions available to them.
“They follow what they have been told by the society that the police and Army bring pride to their families. Similarly, one-fourth of girls are attracted to taking up teaching as a profession as it gives them a sense of stability with fewer risks. Students are not yet aware that several recruitment drives for government services are pending in courts,” he said.
Girls also appeared to be relatively more certain about their choice of profession. Among female students, 13.9% admitted they were clueless about what they wanted to pursue.
This figure was almost seven percentage points higher – at 20.8% — for male respondents.
Similarly, the report said 1.3% of boys said they did not want to work. The same was conceded by 0.6% of the girls surveyed.
“We obtained a large number of responses in the ‘don’t know’ category. While many factors may underlie this finding, a partial explanation can be seen in participants’ thoughts about these conversations we had with them about their future. At the end of each survey, participants were asked to tell us their thoughts about the 90-minute discussion anonymously in writing. Most of them wrote that it was the first time anyone had ever asked them what they wanted to do or had an in-depth conversation with them about their work and educational aspirations,” the report said.
The survey also pointed out that students were “clear” about their educational aspirations, but they had “limited information” about work opportunities and possible ways to achieve them.
The Periodic Labour Force Survey for July 2022-June 2023 by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) said that Haryana’s unemployment rate for those above 15 years of age was 6.1%. Earlier in December 2022, the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) pegged Haryana’s unemployment level at 37.4%, the highest for any state in India.
Though several athletes and sportspersons from Haryana have gone on to make a name in wrestling and boxing, few students in the survey showed an interest. Only 3.6% of boys said they would want a career in sports, and among girls, it was far lower – at 0.8%.
The gender divide was also apparent when asked about becoming a homemaker. None of the male participants said they would do housework in the future, and 1.3% of girls said they would become homemakers.
A profession in agriculture did not find any takers among girls and only 0.6% of boys showed an interest even though much of the state’s economy relies on farming.
Sindhu said agriculture had become a last resort for youngsters. “Families in Haryana don’t have faith in agriculture as a profession. Even as kids, students are told that if they do not study, they would end up ploughing fields,” he added.