Forced to toe their parents' line

High Pressure

Among the many burdens that students have to bear these days, parental pressure seems to be  high on the list. The pressure starts right from school and gathers momentum by the time they complete school and enter college.

While some parents choose the course for their children, others indirectly hint that their kids study in the same school, college or take up the same stream as they did.

Mainstream courses such as engineering, medicine are what parents would ideally like their children to do. So, even if the child is interested in arts, commerce or any other offbeat stream, parents usually discourage them. If students are forced to choose a particular stream and if they’re disinterested in the same, then pressure mounts and learning ceases to be interesting. Studying can be strenuous and emphasis on performance only aggravates the stress-levels. Anything forced down their throats doesn’t settle in well, is what most students aver.

Nagarjun, a first semester engineering student of BIT, says, “I am doing engineering because my mother wanted me to. I wanted to pursue IAS but because of the large number of engineers in my family, I was forced to get into the same stream. But I will definitely pursue IAS someday.” Some students even bargain with their parents saying that they would study what their parents would like them to if they are allowed to do what they want later on.

“I am doing medicine only because my parents wanted my twin and I to become doctors and study in the same college as well. I got a better rank than her in CET and so I had to choose a college where she would get admission as well,” said Anitha, a medical student. Vindhya, a fifth semester student from NMIT says, “my grandfather is an engineer, my father is an engineer too and now I am doing engineering. When I joined, I wasn’t very interested but now I have taken a liking to the subjects and I am actually enjoying it.”

Rahul, an e

ngineering student says, “I was always interested in science in the practical sense but didn’t want to study it. It was my father who forced me to do science in first PUC and then I joined engineering. I’m grateful to him for all that pressure otherwise I would have not done as well as I am doing now.”

There are some students who believe that the pressure has helped them realise that this is what they actually wanted to do.

There is not only a negative side to pressure but a positive aspect as well. There are cases when the parents have fallen in line with their children, so that the children do not miss the support that they need from parents.