NEET - a parent's worry!

Already many discussion have happened across all media - in newspapers, in TV channels, blogs, Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, SMS, through pigeons, telepathy etc. So I'am not going to write 'about NEET' - whether it is good or not, whether it will produce good doctors for future (like how big budgets always come out with great movies for humanity) etc. My intention (actually it is a worry) is simple: how am I going to handle this for my child, as a responsible father.

I'am fortunate in two aspects, those differentiate me from the fathers belonging to villages or living in small towns and who do very normal (but essential) jobs; i.e. (1) I can make my child to join in a good coaching centre as I'am blessed to be born in Chennai, which is blessed with as many coaching centres as road side eateries in Madurai. (2) I have a hope - after calculating inflation, future Real GDP, my share from it, economic disasters (or boost) born out of natural calamities - I'll be able to afford my son's coaching fee (God - save me here). So ideally I shouldn't be too worried.

But just like how a coin has two sides, here also there are two sides; one is a coaching centre (which I hope will be able to sort out) second is the person who is going to coaching centre, here, it is my child. 

Just like any other father, I too have high hopes on my son. Recently, educationalists, think tanks, psychologists, why, even psychiatrists have started advising that a parent should not push his child into a study in which that child has no interest. It would have been better if they had given this advice to my father. 

Anyway, my main issue is, I don't know whether my son wants to become a doctor or not. Because two years ago when I asked him the most important question of life, 'what do you want to become when you grow up?' - he calmly replied, 'I want to become an engine driver.'

I started to worry and asked the rationale behind his decision. He was surprised and told me, 'why? I can drive train throughout night and can see many stations.' I tried to calm myself by my reasoning skills. He just had a train journey so that excitement might still be there. So I gave him an year time and asked the same question for which he replied that he wanted to become race car driver. I had a shock of my life because I just finished seeing a clip of a race car flying in a whatsapp message sent by my friend.

This year his reply was much better. Conversation went like this:

Me: "What do you want to become when you grow up? Think and tell me."

He: "An Engineer.....whatever it is."

Here I must mention one point. This year my son is entering into first standard.

I can sense your thoughts: 'why is he over reacting? why is he worrying" etc. But I'am not over reacting. See, I shouldn't force him into medical studies or any other studies as per the view of knowledgeable people. At the same time I must find out in which profession he has interest. The sooner I find it out, easier it will be to find better coaching centre, arrange fee.

To make things worse, we don't know to how many more professions, entrance exams are going to be announced and to what extent is going to be the change. How much gap is going to be there with our school curriculum and that particular special exam? How many experts will be available to teach (less tutors more will be fee).

It is very obvious. I'am surrounded by many challenges here: what my son wants to do, which coaching centre should I go, how much is going to be the fee and...how am I going to manage it at that time.

The only consolation I have is, I live in Singara Chennai.

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Bharathram

21-June-2018