................................................................................ A Directory of Higher Education 2006 Rs 75 320 pp 2006K C Narayanan, editor in charge ................................................................................
Hand it to the Malayalees. They really know how to make the best use of information. This book under review is one such example. A fascinating, 320-page book, it's priced at just Rs 75. It contains tonnes and tonnes of useful career information, even if the cost of this is subsidised by the many pages of advertising in this large-sized book published by one of the major newspapers publishers of Kerala. After seeing a reference to it in The Hindu (the Chennai-based serious-in-outlook newspaper) I tried locating a copy of the book. South India tends to be serious about issues like education, environment and social justice. That's why one loves plugging into their cultures, understanding them and trying to reverse-engineer at least a little of the same for Goa. Even if it's mostly a tough job. After searching in many bookshops, it was finally at a Manorama stand at the airport that one got a copy of this book. Says the introduction to it, "A young person today is required to have not only academic qualitifications but also a whole set of other skills. A student needs to develop the ability to communicate and get along with people and the ability to think ahead. A willingness to learn new things, to be open minded, to take on challenges, to be able to withstand pressures are essential qualities.... " This book starts with a section on "Emerging Career Trends". The lead article here is by Usha Albuquerque, the Goan prominent career adviser who's based in New Delhi. There's also a review of 'engineering education in India'. Likewise, there are pointers to a whole set of courses: accountancy, actuarial science, advertising, agriculture, animation and cartoons, architecture, art, audio-visual media, banking services, beauty care, bioinformatics, biotechnology and genetic engineering, chartered financial analysts, civil services, commercial pilot, company secretary, company secretary ... and a whole lot more gong down to water and land management and veterinary services. It's neatly laid out and well printed. There's a whole lot of information packed into a cluttered space. One limitation is that parts of the book read like long lists of which-insitution-is-located-where. There are not sufficient details about what exact courses is offered by which institution. But when you try to get such a wide angle picture of such a vast landscape (the educational field in a country of one-billion, and South India does have a growing number of interesting alternatives), then it's obvious that you will come up with such a cluttered canvas. Anyway, this can indeed be a useful book. If you're serious about building talent back home, please seriously consider gifting a copy to the school you studied at or a helpful teacher who could share this information with others. As for me, I'm off to pass on my copy to a teacher in the village who helps a lot of kids find their way around in the complexing world of careers. -FN MORE SUCH information from Goanet Careers: http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-careers-goanet.org/ To join Goanet Careers, contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- ---------------------------------------------------------- Frederick 'FN' Noronha | Yahoomessenger: fredericknoronha http://fn.goa-india.org | +91(832)2409490 Cell 9822122436 _______________________________________________ Goanet mailing list Goanet@lists.goanet.org http://lists.goanet.org/listinfo.cgi/goanet-goanet.org