The Southern Preference

Why are students obsessed with the science stream and why do most of them come from the southern states?

- Anisha Reddy

'SCIENCE, Commerce or Humanities?"every teenager is posed with this question upon entering high school. In 2022, almost 42 lakh students picked the science stream. And a majority of them hail from just five states, all located in the southern part of India-Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka.

Byresh S H was one such student. Hailing from a small town in Kolar, Karnataka, and a student of Expert PU College, Mangaluru, Byresh topped the BSc agriculture stream this year. He also secured a second rank in naturopathy and yogic sciences (BNYS), fourth in veterinary sciences, and B-Pharma, D-Pharma streams, and nursing. However, his aim was always to study medicine at the renowned All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi, and he is working towards that. "With the marks I have secured, I am close to realising my dream of entering AIIMS," he says.

Byresh is among the 42 lakh students who opted for the science stream after Class 10 in 2022, a number that is up from 30.7 lakh students in 2012. The numbers are from a study conducted by the Union Ministry of Education (MOE) of examination results of secondary and higher secondary class (Class X and XII) of 60 different state school and central boards in the country.

Science seems to be the most popular stream among students in southern states of the country-three out of the five large states, where science is the preferred choice of high school level students, belong to the southern region. This is despite the fact that children in this region of India are often encouraged by their families to learn dance, music and theatre early on in their childhood.

Meanwhile, as one moves north and northeast, the preference lies in arts/humanities, and commerce stream stands out as the least opted across boards. This shows stark regional differences in the chosen academic streams by students across the country.