On the sixth day of admissions on Wednesday, there were hardly any seats left in the Science subjects of the total 3,218 seats in government schools.

This year, parents seem to be dictating the choice of subject their ward is to study and most say they have gone for “regular” subjects.

“It is vital that instead of completing her Class XII with some Arts subjects, my daughter studies Science. Taking up non-medical will ensure that her job horizons broaden. Though she was keen to take up Economics, I thought otherwise,” said Parkash Sahni, a parent.

The grim placement scene owing to the economic slowdown notwithstanding, parents feel that Science streams spell job security.

“Science is a professional stream and chances of my son getting a job become brighter after studying the subjects so I have asked him to choose the non-medical stream,” avers Ranjana Sharma, a parent.

Despite the argument that medical students take a few years to settle down, a secure career has made medical stream a popular choice among parents. “I agree that an aspiring doctor takes a long time to have a stable career but at least one’s job is not at risk. Though many jobs were lost during the ongoing economic meltdown, doctors were relatively safe because they had their private clinics to fall back upon,” said another parent Pritpal Singh.

Last year’s trend shows that students were taking up so-called off-beat subjects like economics, sanskrit and psychology.

The popularity of these subjects, however, has declined with several seats in the Arts stream lying vacant. “A simple BA degree no longer holds much value as students and parents have become career-oriented. Graduating in Arts subject no longer ensures one a well-paying job in this competitive world,” said Harish Aneja, another parent.

With no seats left in commerce and science, students now opt for humanities

The counseling-cum- centralised admissions to Class-XI entered its sixth-day with all the seats in Commerce stream in government schools across the city being filled on Wednesday.

Around 830 students sought admissions at Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 10, on the sixth day.

Students in the percentage bracket of 56 per cent and above were called for counselling.

Admissions in Commerce closed today with three remaining schools GMSSS-8, GMSSS-20, GMSSS-20 (Girls) also announcing closure of seats at a cut off of 61.8 per cent, 60.2 per cent and 59 per cent, respectively.

The admission in the science stream is also almost over in all the government schools, with schools like GMSSS (Girls), Sector18, also announcing filling of seats in Science at a cut-off of 58.4 per cent.

Though humanities and vocational streams have had a disappointing run till now but with filling up of seats in Science and Commerce, students have started making a bee line towards these streams as well.