When it comes to education and career decisions, parents take a backseat

We spoke to a few parents at various centers in New Delhi and Mumbai to understand where they stood as their children entered the great Indian MBA dream.

Most parents were of the opinion that when it came to making higher education decisions, their children took the driver’s seat.

The decision of appearing for the CAT has been taken entirely by my daughter. She has a work experience of one year and wants to get into one of the top 15 MBA institutes of the country, Sushil Ajmani, father of Srishti Ajmani, a CAT 2011 aspirant said. He added that today, the priority for every parent was to ensure a good educational background for their young ones.

“One day, we received a phone call from our son who was working with TCS in Chennai that he was resigning and returning home to study for the CAT. We were apprehensive and still are, for who knows whether he will get through his choice of MBA institute? But we trust him because these days children know more about these things thanks to a well-informed friend network,” said Chanderparkash Khurana, retired officer with the transport department and father of CAT 2011 aspirant Amarjeet Khurana.

Ajit Arora, father of two CAT 2011 aspirants — daughter Shweta having one-year work experience and son Ashish, a final year BTech student — said, The priority is for my children is to get a top MBA college. As parents, we want to see them make a bright future and I think MBA is the correct path for them. However, if they do not get the college of their choice, the option of taking up a job is always open.

There are also parents who are although in full support of their sons’ or daughters’ decision to do MBA, they are trying to persuade their children to get admission in a college this year itself.

G Nair, father to another CAT aspirant told PaGaLGuY, The decision to pursue MBA has been my daughters. My only advice to her is to take admission in a college this year, even if does not have a ranking in the top fifteen. However, she is more inclined to appear again next year if she does not get into an IIM.

KD Arora, father of CAT aspirant Ashima Arora said, “My daughter consults her elder brother who is doing his MS in the US about her education. Once someone in the family gets good education, it becomes a trend with the siblings. We support our daughter’s decision to do MBA, but it should not be just to follow the herd. If she gets an admission then we will together decide whether it actually makes sense or is she just following the herd.”

Narsimha Murthy, working in a private job and father to a CAT 2011 aspirant said, While I support my sons decision to do an MBA, I have made it clear that he has to take an admission this year itself. As it is we will have to take a loan to support his education. Dropping a year would only make things harder.

Complaining about the increase in the fees across Indian b-schools, most parents said that they would have to take a loan to support their children’s aspirations. For some others, an MBA abroad also seems a viable choice.

Sunil Mittal, father of another CAT aspirant shared, My elder daughter has also done an MBA and she had taken a loan. She is the one guiding my son, Mohit to make his choices. While both of them have my full support, in terms of financial backing we shall have to take a loan.

On the other hand, another parent, who did not want his name disclosed said, We have worked our entire life to make our childs life comfortable. My priority is to see my son happy. Even if it is an MBA abroad with a steep tuition fees, I shall support him so that he does not have to face the additional trauma of handling a loan.

Another change that was uniform in the attitude of parents shows that a late marriage as a result of higher education and subsequent career pressures is becoming completely acceptable. In fact, marriage is secondary, which would happen eventually but education had to be the top priority.

My daughter is 24. She is now appearing for her CAT paper the second time. If she does not get in this year, she will try again next year. We are in full support of her pursuing an MBA degree. Although we will like her to get married once she turns 25, we will not push her to make any forced decisions. It is a matter of her lifes choices after all, shared Ajit Arora.

Sharing his views on the issue, KD Arora said, It is true that the marriage of highly educated daughters can be difficult, but my son has married a highly qualified girl and they are happy. Similarly, my daughter will also find a boy who is comfortable with her education and professional background. I am not worried about it.”

And then again, some parents were worried about the unsavoury situation if their children had to face rejection in this years CAT.

I have come to the centre with my daughter. I am as tense as her because entrance exams can be extremely stressful these days. I really hope she does well. She tends to get extremely affected by her performance in exams and CAT means a lot to her, said a worried Mrs Das.

K Singh, another parent voiced his displeasure at the fact that students had been asked to report one hour before the exam. I dont know why students have been asked to come early and sit in the testing labs. They sit in the examination hall for four hours, which means they stay hungry for more than six hours, which is not right.

To this, Mrs Krishnan added, I do not eat out. I accompanied my daughter to the exam spot and have been waiting for her for almost five hours. We had to come very far and so had left home early. I am famished so I can imagine what my daughter must be going through inside.

Mr Pravin Raje and his daughter Priyanka Raje

However, Pravin Raje, father of Priyanka Raje, the CAT aspirant in the family was completely at ease with himself compared to the general state of nervousness in other parents. “Priyanka has been a rank holder in her 10th, 12th and Chartered Accountant exams. My daughter is a seasoned player. There are no signs of anxiety or otherwise. She decided to take the CAT two months ago. She is confident of getting an excellent score as within a short period of preparation she has managed more than 98 percentile in her mock tests,” said Pravin Raje, who is a bank manager.