Interest for arts subjects steadily waning in DK and Udupi!

Mangaluru: Once popular, the Department of Arts and Humanities is losing sheen year after year in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi. The number of students enrolling in arts subjects is on the decline for some time now, in the twin districts.

About two decades ago, almost 40 percent of college students every year enrolled in arts subjects. But the ratio has now declined to around 15 to 20 percent, data shows. Of the 40,000- odd students that got admitted to PUC courses in Dakshina Kannada, only about 3000 took up humanities subjects. In comparison, almost 18,000 opted for the science stream, and 15,000 for commerce studies. The same trend is visible in the past years too.

Humanities studies offer many opportunities including law, journalism, BEd, fine arts, sociology, etc. The students who pursue studies in these streams are eligible for appearing for government recruitment exams conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and Karnatak Public Service Commission (KPSC) every year, said the president of Political Science Lecturer’s organization Chandranath M.

However, this is not the case in the state. In other parts of Karnataka, the admission to humanities courses is equally high as other subjects.

The general lack of interest among the students for arts subjects in the coastal districts of the state has led to a debate in the educational sector. One argument is that medical, engineering, and other professional courses that have mushroomed up on the coast are attracting more students.

The Deputy Director of the education department in Dakshina Kannada, Sudhakar K, told ‘Udayavani’, students cannot be compelled to take up one study over the other. “it’s an individual choice,” he said adding that efforts will be made to spread awareness about the opportunities in the humanities stream to aid students to make an informed choice.