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Visit any cyber cafe near a college and its like having stepped into a corporate office by mistake. Groups of students will be feverishly collating data and images for assignment submissions and presentations, taking printouts, getting them spiral bound... The fortunate ones do their research at home.
Unfortunately, not all students restrict their internet usage to these things and as a result, not all parents are able to trust their children when they go online. McAfee’s ‘Secret Lives of Teens’ survey of over 1500 Indian parents and teens, revealed that there is an evident discrepancy between parental perception and the actual reality regarding the online activities of Indian teens.
While parental concerns prevail, teens do end up sharing more dangerous information online, contrary to their parents belief. This divide is attributed to the fact that Indian teens are growing up as ‘digital natives’, with increasingly active online lives but lack of parental assistance.
l 70% of the surveyed teens believe that they shouldn’t share their home address online but 40% of them still do. Correspondingly, only 21% of the polled parents believe teens would have actually done so.
l Interestingly, 70% of polled parents completely trust their teens to tell them everything they do online whereas 58% polled teens strongly believe that they know how to hide their online activities from their parents.
Anindita Mishra, McAfee Cybermum India., explained, “The results of the study reaffirm that the online behavioural patterns of children need to be seen in a different light and with lot more gravity and consciousness by Indian parents."
She feels that instead of being nurtured through their formative years, today’s teens are meandering their way through an unrestricted virtual world with disturbing experiences like cyber bullying, befriending unknown strangers and accessing provocative content. Arming our kids with the information they need and talking even more openly about the risks involved and how to deal with them, is a key agenda of new age parenting,

There are several challenges that students face across education streams in the current scenario. It is a tough world out there for students. Along with having to exist in a fiercely competitive world where mediocrity is frowned upon, they are also burdened with the rising costs of higher education, a demanding exam system, recession, peer pressure and high expectations of parents.
Students should be aware of the complete range of opportunities in a particular field, preferably before finally opting for that field. Do make an informed decision. As soon as you settle down in the course and understand its dynamics, work on formulating an achievable goal, be it placement or higher studies abroad, pursuing research, entrepreneurship, etc. Strategise on achieving that goal along with religiously following your regular curriculum. You may chart out a disciplined self-training schedule or opt for expert coaching facilities.
This is the age of information explosion which has unlocked hitherto closed doors. Be aware of the bigger picture, of what your contemporaries across the globe are achieving by pursuing similar courses. Be comfortable with using gadgets and software related to the latest technology relevant to your field. Continually update your knowledge and sync it to the latest trends in your field. Participate in events and competitions relevant to your field. These can also help to boost up your resume later. Always be in tune with the times, don’t be obsolete!

Every student has a simple goal, to leverage the education course and set the foundation for a fruitful career. The question that arises at the pre-graduation and post-graduation stages, is what are the sectors witnessing growth? Obviously, if there are additional employment opportunities coming up and a particular sector is booming, it makes sense to specialise in that while finalising graduation or post-graduation courses.
The good news is that the organised sector in India is set to create about 1.6 million new jobs in the year 2012 as per the Ma Foi Randstad Employment Trends Survey. The sectors that are most optimistic about hiring in the year 2012 are healthcare, hospitality, IT-ITES, non-machinery manufacturing and media and entertainment. The top three job generation sectors estimated by the survey for this year are healthcare (273,571), hospitality (230,213) and IT-ITES (227,328).
Healthcare sector remained a leading employment provider in the country, being the largest contributor to jobs created in 2011. Key drivers including government expenditure on healthcare, increasing demand for medical tourism, diagnostics and pathology services are expected to increase demand for services in the healthcare industry. This sector is expected to grow at a rate of 7.6% and also lead the table by creating 273,571 jobs in 2012.
Hospitality sector has remained one of the top performing sectors in 2011. With a sharp depreciation in the rupee, India has turned into a cheap destination for foreign visitors. Rising business and leisure travel to smaller cities has increased demand for hospitality chains, resulting in significant creation of jobs at all levels. This sector is expected to grow at a rate of 3.6%, the same as last year and add 230,213 jobs.
One of the largest employment generators in the organized sector in India, the IT and ITES sectors have remained as one of the major job providers during the year 2011. Factors including emerging e-retail, proliferation of the App market for mobile phones and cloud computing services indicate a demand for jobs in this sector. Companies that were surveyed in the sector are consciously moving up the value chain to stay competitive in the global arena. This, along with the increase in number of rural BPO’s has impacted the employment generation in the sector positively. The sector is expected to add a total of 227,328 jobs and

I am a regular reader of DNA and liked your new supplement on education. I am a B Sc computer science second year student and aspire to do MBA. The problem is I have weak base in Mathematics and I don't know much about the other fields in MBA.
- Abhishek Jain
You can do your MBA with specialisation in marketing, finance, HRD, supply chain management and IT to name a few. Do seek the help of a career counselor to decide your interests and aptitude .You need not worry about your weak base in Maths as good amount of practice can help you do well. Entrance tests like CAT, CMAT need tremendous amount of practice and coaching classes can help you prepare better.

Education has undergone a lot of changes in the recent years. For instance, the students of the SSC board now have to deal with the ‘Best of 5’ system,which has both advantages as well as disadvantages. The students scoring higher tend to get a few percentages less than they deserve and the students scoring less gain a few more than they should hence are in profit.
The semester system that has been introduced just recently in degree colleges too has its own share of pros and cons. In this system, the grades or marks of the students are incorporated in the final year mark sheet from the first year itself. This also includes instances where the student has got any ATKT’s in any of the years. The disadvantage of this is that since the papers set are pretty tough and marking is done very strictly, students have to slog a lot. Due to this, they are unable to really take up extra-curricular activities as they do not have enough time for the same.
It also provides a few advantages. It helps students to be more disciplined as it requires them to study consistently to work harder than before. It ensures that a student delivers as per100% of his or her potential. Apart from this, another advantage is that the attendance and class performance of the student is also taken into account. This ensures that the student attends lectures regularly and does not waste time outside the classroom.
Prerna is a FYBA student at GK Khalsa Colllege.

I have been teaching for almost 17 years now and my basic observation has been that there is too much interference from the parents in the child’s life. All parents want their children to come first in the class.
Not everyone is or can be an all-rounder. A student may be good in mathematics and weak in languages or vice–versa but parents are not always ready to accept it.
They simply want him or her to excel in all the subjects regardless of aptitude and capability.
Another big mistake that parents make is comparing their ward with another.
Not all brains function the same way, each one works differently.
Parents also argue with teachers a lot on such matters. There is so much pressure on a child before exam starts and yet parents are heard saying that it is their exam.
In fact, this tendency is also quite visible during the vacation period.
While parents enroll their children in vocational classes or to learn some instrument, they don’t always ask children about their choice.
Often, a skill or vocation that the student is not at all interested in has to be forcibly taken up. Over the years, with the increasingly competitive attitude, the classroom dynamics have also changed.
Previously, students would quietly listen to whatever is being explained. Now they come prepared. They attend classes or read up on reference books. Due to this, the teacher also has to be well prepared and ready to be asked any question. It is said that a teacher is always first and foremost a student. Hence, continuous learning and updating oneself with new techniques and technologies is essential. One should be able to give real-life examples that students relate to while explaining topics.
Sheetal is a senior teacher at Vandana School.