According to the experts and career counsellors, we should always choose a profession of our interest. No profession is less respectable than the other. Unfortunately, in Pakistan, there is a ranking of professions based on the grades of a student. It may seem ridiculous to some of you but I am sure a lot of you can relate to what I am talking about.

Look around and you will find yourself surrounded by people asking you about your grade and then suggesting to you the profession that you should choose. For instance, if you have an A+ grade, you will be told to choose professions like engineering and medicine. If you have a B grade, you will be told to choose BBA or any accounting field. If you have a grade less than C, you will be suggested to choose arts as a profession.

The question that arises is where is the point of interest in this ranking? Does all that matter in the career choice is your marks and not your interest? And exactly who is separating and ranking professions on the basis of grades? Is this ranking made by a professional or a layman?

Personal interests are the basic source of motivation for a man. Unfortunately, the society we are living in does not even bother to consider this important factor. No matter you have an interest in that field or not, you have to choose the field according to the so-called ranking and if you opt for any other profession especially lower than that, you will be bashed, criticized and sometimes, even bullied.

Let’s take an example. What happens when a top-scoring student chooses art as his/her profession? He/she is bullied quoting that you have such good grades and you have chosen arts as your profession. It is for someone who is not good at studies, you should opt for a medical or engineering field. Why is art considered to be a less respectable profession? You can easily imagine that what would be the student’s mental health condition after hearing these absurd comments.

This trend is increasing day by day. Due to this, the students are forced to choose a profession according to their grades not according to their interests in order to be called sensible. The results are pretty much evident. Nowadays, we have thousands of degree holders of a profession but only a few professionals. This trend is also a reason that our country is not making progress. Our students are not interested in the subjects they are studying. If students have zero interest in the professions, what quality of services they will provide?

AYESHA MALIK,

Lahore.