With the changing time, few courses which were considered just for girls seem to be slowly gaining impetus among the boys as well.
looking at the demand, Home Science — which was restricted to home making and cookery — has now widened its sphere in other specialisations like textile designing, human development and food and nutrition science attracting boys to pursue this course sidelining other regular subjects.
looking at the present demands in hospitality and health sector, Ranchi University (RU), Home Science Post Graduation department has revived the curriculum of this specific subject, which was once considered a dying subject among the candidates.
“The trend is slowly changing, as schemes like Start-ups and Stand ups have been initiated by the Central government. Students’ mentality has changed and now parents too want their child to pursue courses which are different from regular studies. Moreover, Home Science is at par with the Hotel Management course. This is one subject that is amalgamated with subjects like child psychology, statistics, diet management etc,” said, PG Home Science Department, HOD, Dr. Reshma Xalxo. “As per the market demand, the course has been revived with different specializations besides, the core subject. Practicals are conducted regularly giving exposure to students of diverse segments. At present, we have three boys in PG Home Science department. In 2015-17 batch eight boys have been admitted,” added Xalxo.
The course gained momentum among the boy students after students residing in rural pockets showed interest and opted for the subject. “After the course started at Silli College and Sanjay Gandhi Memorial College gained thrust, it was initiated in other colleges, including varsities too. After completing the course, students are getting job in different NGOs and health sector,” Xalxo said.
However, despite students’ interest in pursuing the course, the University is not able to provide ample space to the candidates. “At present, we are running the course in a very limited resource.We need proper space and infrastructure for conducting classes and to carry out practical work. It becomes difficult at times to conduct classes, when all the rooms are full or being utilised for different purposes,” Xalxo said.