HOW STUDENTS IN UTTAR PRADESH CHOOSE THEIR SUBJECTS FOR SENIOR SECONDARY: A STUDENT ADVOCACY REPORT

Mr. Anubhav Sony 1 and Dr. Sidharth Jain 2 . 1. Research Scholar, Faculty of Management and Commerce, IBM, Mangalayatan University, Aligarh. 2. Associate Professor, Faculty of Management and Commerce, IBM, Mangalayatan University, Aligarh. ............................................................................................................... Manuscript Info Abstract ......................... ........................................................................ Manuscript History

Jawaharlal Nehru once said "The policy of being too cautious is the greatest risk of all". In India, the students, their Friends, Parents and also the Education System are being too cautious in aiming the missiles of education to the prospective learners in 2016. Global Competition, overpopulation and now even the Quality & Methods of Education have become the important reasons of Unemployment, because a mere degree in hand is not being entertained as a good employability status because companies are nowadays looking for passion, multitasking abilities and worthiness of candidates for respected jobs. There is no denying of need of education but the researcher aims at the needs of Educational Reforms so that the Indian economy may escalate onto higher grounds as sought by policy makers. This Paper reveals a very important and interesting factsheet about the reasons which lies behind the choice of Major Subjects at Senior Secondary Level by the students and how majority of them need to drop their passions, bobbies and interests in order to learn what they are not supposed to. This paper also examines the influence of Societal factors over sole interests of Students while making choices for their prospective professions because senior secondary is seen as the level which defines the path of one's careers. Primary Data for this research report has been collected from 200 undergraduate students from different streams and different cities of Uttar Pradesh region and basic statistics has been used to analyse impact of one variable over other.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………….... Introduction:-
The term Education is the procedure of facilitating learning or else the possession of knowledge, skills, ethics, beliefs, and behavior. (Warner, 2016)Educational methods contain storytelling, discussion, teaching, training, and directed research.On basis of interviews conducted by the researchers, it was revealed that many teenagers, adults and even old people feel the nagging ache within their hearts regarding the work they are doing/studying opposing their choices and interests because they have had pressures from friends, family or market trends. This one girl we have interviewed named Manu Katiyar who wanted to help society by being a doctor was forced to choose ISSN: 2320-5407 Int. J. Adv. Res. 4(12), 1242-1248 1243 commerce because she did not score enough marks in other subjects, resulting her to drop the idea of being a doctor without focusing on how excellent she was in science. (KNIGHT, 2016)If we ask ourselves truly, we will find that our schooling systems or many environmental factors have impacted us to not to study what we wanted, instead of opting different job oriented or society oriented courses.
(Glenn & Bishop, n.d.) All the levels of schooling are vital for a student, but the importance of secondary education is imperative since it is the milestone where students are can interface with new technologies and methods. There is also great need of principled and good initiative takers in rising nations, so that secondary education can be made more comprehensive and enjoyable for the students covering wider realms.
The 2-year schooling phase is key for terminal of formal teaching, including non-formal and casual learning schemes which are required to be geared in order to facilitate the teaching-learning process effectively and efficiently. (Bernardo, 2014) A syllabus needs to be updated frequently, not only to include new knowledge but also to acclimatize to changing social, technical, environmental and global perspectives.
In India, students are required to choose subjects of their choice and interest for senior secondary, but mostly students end up filling forms with something which is not of their choice or interest at all. (Dalal, 2015)The ICSE board, State Boards, CBSE board and the Open School Boards offers the following three torrents after Secondary Schooling for students to select: 1. Science: The science field deals with Medical studies and Engineering comprising major subjects like Chemistry, Zoology, Botany, Physics, Mathematics. 2. Commerce: The commerce field deals with trade practices, business, management and marketing. Students weaker in Physics, chemistry, Biology or math's may apply in this stream as it requires limited knowledge about finance and trade. 3. Arts and Humanities: This is the widest stream covering many aspects like History, Human Resources, economics, Psychology, Sociology, Geography, Political Science, languages, Anthropology, Fine arts etc.
Objectives:-1. To find out the factors which triggers secondary students to choose this subjects at senior secondary level.

2.
To find out the degree of satisfaction level among under graduate students regarding their choices made at 10+2.

Hypothesis:-
H o There is no significant relationship between choices of subjects with friend circle of students at secondary education level. H 1 There is significant relationship between choices of subjects with friend circle of students at secondary education level.
H o There is no significant relationship on choice of subjects with influence of family on the students at secondary education level. H 1 There is significant relationship on choice of subjects with influence of family on the students at secondary education level.

Review of Literature:-
According to Tracy McCabe, experience students select institutions for a whole range of reasons and seek different information based on a wide range of factors. Some students select on the basis of location -they have family in Newcastle; want to be in Australia; on the coast but not in a big city; want to live on campus or live by the beach, and so on. "Some students want to study with a particular academic, in a particular research team so we would talk to them about these aspects of the university. Some students get recommendations from family, alumni, agents or embassies. "She adds that some students make their decision based on cost or whether they have the qualifications to get into the particular course that they want. "When we talk to students considering Newcastle, we talk about the lifestyle in the city -a smaller city, on the coast, mild weather, a bit cheaper than Sydney but close enough to experience all the excitement if you want it. 1244 Meagan Elyse Hanna said as hsewas researching law schools, I became overwhelmed when they all started to look the same. Then I visited the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. I was welcomed into the UDM Law family from the moment I walked in the door. The close-knit community of students, faculty, and administrators provides a learning environment I found unparalleled in support and encouragement. Add to that UDM's commitment to making its graduates "practice ready" through its clinics, law firm program courses, and writing across the curriculum, and I was sold. Thanks to UDM, I'll graduate this year with the confidence I need to compete in the legal job market.
Kevin Hessberg, after one walk around "Grounds," I was already imagining myself at the University of Virginia. The tradition, beauty, and academic reputation of the university were just a few factors that prompted me to enter the Master of Teaching program at the University of Virginia Marshall School of Business: the highly relevant, theme-based curriculum; the exceptional quality of the professors; and the diverse student population that is characteristic of Los Angeles. The program moves at a quick pace. The entire faculty has been tremendous, really catering to all of us busy executives. I will leave the program with three things I hadn't anticipated-increased confidence, a broader perspective, and amazing friendships that will last a lifetime. Now I understand why Trojans are so passionate about the USC network; it has already proved to be invaluable.
(ang, 2016)Gan EngKhoon emphasizes the importance of the decision of choosing subjects as "Deciding on a university and the course to pursue is one of the more important decisions a student will have to make and will require careful thought. "Generally, students are looking out for a university with a high international standing, excellent academic record, and state-of-the-art facilities. This is understandable. However, a truly top-rate university provides more than just these." He says that potential students need to ask themselves whether the university they are planning on going to will prepare them for the intense competition of the working world.
Norhanom Abdul Wahab says: "We normally choose a country or university that you perceive to offer better postgraduate programs than your home institution. "The experience of studying abroad is also good to improve one's outlook towards achieving academic excellence. A student should look for a university with a good reputation and also one that is praised by its alumni in terms of providing the conducive environment for international students." He also offers advice on how to make sure you succeed in your graduate studies: "Students should focus on their studies and be prepared in terms of ability to cope with the program. Be prepared also with language requirements and financial support."

Research Methodology:-Research Design(specific):
A study was conducted to fulfill the above stated objective with the sample size of 100 respondents. Sample for the research was taken from the students belonging to different courses from different regions of Uttar Pradesh state by the help of the questionnaire.
Sampling Design:-Simple random sampling method has been used for this study. 1245

Sources of data:-
The data source for this study incorporates mainly primary and secondary sources. The primary sources include thorough interviews, Questionnaire responses and Discussions with the students.
Tools and techniques used for analysis of Data:-Different statistical tools like Average, mean and mode were used to Analyse the data and Appropriate graphs were used to represent data in ease manner.

Data analysis and interpretation:-
From the Analysis of various questions, the researchers have asked from respondents, following interpretations were commonly made-1: Out of 100, 56 respondents said they were agreed/satisfied with their Marks/ CGPA/ Performance in secondary examinations. And upon questioning the reasons of non-satisfaction regarding marks with secondary examinations came out to be interesting. Majority of students hated mathematics which is estimated as level 1 in the descending order survey, then Social Science, Science and Hindi and English at lower levels.

2:
The interesting facts turn out in senior secondary examination stage. The dissatisfaction level of students regarding their own performance rose from 12% in secondary to 33% in senior secondary level. And reasons remain the confusion regarding choice of subjects at senior secondary stage. Many students were influenced by parents, friends, Stories and Glamor instead of their choices and interests where they may prove excels.

4%
56% 28% 12% 0% Response Set 1 strongly agree agree neutral disagree strongly disagree 1246 3: Following figure represents that 28% respondents were influenced by their friends to choose their subjects at senior secondary. There are many students who came from a background where the parents are not literate, thus the choice of friends moves them to opt subjects they have chosen. This becomes serious issue in their careers as one who possesses knowledge about arts and hostory is learning science and technology.
Out of 100, the same students who were asked the question regarding satisfaction level at Graduation regarding their subject selection, then the graph further went down. Those who choose subjects out of interest were found to be satisfied, but the others who made decisions in haste or without proper counselling were in dilemma. Many graduation students who were commerce or science students were now pursuing BA, LLB, or other professional courses like B.

Response of Set 3
Marks at secondary level family influence friends own decision market situations 1247 Findings:- 1. The researchers find out that the students at senior secondary level choose subjects mostly under the influence of their friends and family. The choices regarding what to study and learn on behalf of their interest and hobbies comes at least level. 2. Students belonging to schools where teachers barely counsel students while making subject choices at senior secondary are found to follow the crowd blindly which somewhere affects the quality of education in India. 3. Maximum students were found to be satisfied with their secondary school performance, which later on was discovered declining in senior secondary and at graduation levels. Which calls immediate action to reform educational policies in India.

Conclusions and Recommendations: -
To sum up, we may say that there are a number of factors which acts as igniting forces that drives the students after secondary examinations to choose their subjects for senior secondary level. These factors are ranked as Friends at top, Family at second, Own decisions at third and other factors like market conditions & Trends at fourth level significantly. For that, the researchers would like to recommend the schooling system in Uttar Pradesh to counsel students before opting their prospective syllabuses in senior secondary because this is the refined stage of learning which decides the ultimate career of students. One more thing came out of discussions with students we have interviewed that some students wants to follow or take over their family business as profession in future but learning science, math's or arts have nothing to do with it. For such cases the government may run vocational courses where the students can learn and enhance their professional capabilities in accordance to their interests like Grooming, bakers, fashion designing, gold forgery or gym instructors which requires less subjective knowledge as taught in classrooms. The researchers also find out the satisfaction level of undergraduate students with respect to their choices at senior secondary is found to be average as many students have opted totally different streams and those who were forced to study a specified set of subjects in both levels were marked at least satisfied. This is volcanic condition for students which welcomes negative thoughts and put them in stress while compromising their social and physical activities. In such a scenario there should be provisions to leave courses of graduation after one or two years with some certifications as student feels to leave course in between. Because in current policies, if anyone stops studying or going college after one or two years then his precious time is considered as total waste, but if we can offer him certificates after successful completion of one or two years or degree courses then the student may opt different course while having a valid certificate of old degree. Such system may prove significant in reducing stress levels, suicidal thoughts and pressures of studying insignificant materials. This may further help in improving the