The road less taken: Thriving with an unorthodox major in Bangladesh

Asif enrolled into the Department of Pali and Buddhist Studies at Dhaka University without any prior knowledge or interest about the subject. Given the financial condition of his family, he could not afford to study somewhere else. But having the 'DU tag' would give him a better shot in the private tutor market. Besides, the allure of being a DU student seemed too tempting to resist.

However, once the initial excitement wore off, the reality began to set in, and the appeal of the DU experience started to fade, seeing that his department does not have much to offer when it comes to job opportunities. 

Luckily, he did not have to fall down a deep rabbit hole of frustration. Besides running a small business, Asif started preparing himself for government jobs, along with maintaining a moderately good result in his academic examinations.

Like Asif, many students get into university without knowing anything about their majors, and some of the majors are considered "unorthodox" because of their low demand in the job market.

Choosing a major at college or university in Bangladesh is a life-defining decision. For some, the choice is straightforward and planned — engineering, medicine, law, or business. But for others, it is not smooth sailing, and often, the students themselves are not the ones who make the decision.

The major selection process in our universities is nowhere near an ideal one as students have to choose it right when they enrol. Thus, they have to choose their majors without any prior first-hand knowledge about what they are going to study for the next four to five years.

Choosing a major is often influenced by its 'market demand', i.e., how effectively it equips graduates for the job market. In reality, not all majors have the same demand in the job market — some graduates find jobs quickly, while others struggle to get hired.

Still, hundreds of students enrol in these departments every year, mostly because they had no other choice.

Current reality of university curricula

In recent years, the situation has been taking a turn, and it is for the better. 

"We regularly update our syllabus, and incorporate elements that the job market usually asks for," said Dr Md Noor-e-Alam, an associate professor of Persian Language and Literature at the University of Chittagong.

"A major concern these days for students is that most jobs require you to have a basic grip over communicative English. To address this, we have introduced three four-credit courses focused on verbal and written English language in our bachelor's program. Additionally, we have included another three four-credit courses dedicated to the Bangla language," he added.

"These courses allow our graduates to participate in the Non-Government Teachers' Registration and Certification Authority (NTRCA) examinations for high school and college teaching positions," Dr Noor-e-Alam further said.

Many programs are incorporating interdisciplinary courses in their curricula so that the graduates can have the flexibility in adapting to a wider range of fields. "Our department teaches courses related to philosophy, history, and archaeology, so that our students can explore opportunities in different fields," said Jyotiswi Chakma, an assistant professor at the Department of Pali and Buddhist Studies, DU.

A bachelor's degree does not usually consist of only the courses related to the major's field— rather than a combination of different fields. Just like many engineering programs teach economics and accounting, these unconventional majors teach a variety of courses, exposing a student to different possibilities.

The research or academic sector in these unconventional fields are typically on the narrower side. "To tackle this, we have included Bangla, English, history, mass media and journalism in our curriculum," said Professor Md Shamiul Islam of the Department of Urdu at Rajshahi University.

Skills, campus life and career prospects

"Most jobs in Bangladesh do not require subject-specific knowledge," said Professor Shamiul. "Just the other day, I came across an assistant general manager at a bank who graduated in applied physics! When you see graduates with specialised degrees, such as doctors and engineers, pursuing BCS administration cadres or excelling in the corporate sector, it raises an important question: does the subject of study really matter?"

It is the skills and efforts that matter, at least for the most part, according to the professor.

Graduates of these majors can compete for most government jobs except for the specialised ones. Many choose to sit for government jobs, many aim to climb the corporate ladder, and for a small portion — research is the way.

Although the research sectors of these majors are not quite appealing in terms of opportunities and money, opting for higher studies increases the chances of thriving in this sector, according to Jyotiswi Chakma. "Some of our students have pursued higher studies in different areas related to the courses they studied, which include archaeology, anthropology, and philosophy," she said.

To boost the skills of its students, the Department of Pali and Buddhist Studies of Dhaka University hosts different clubs, like most other departments of the university. In Jyotiswi's opinion, "University life is not all about what specific subject you learn, rather a package of things you do in university, and that includes going to different clubs, learning new skills and building connections."

"To boost the soft skills of the students, our assessment process for a student's overall performance includes viva-voce and presentations," said Dr Alam.

The bitter truth 

"When I enrolled into the Urdu department at Rajshahi University as a first year student, only the students who were interested in studying Urdu applied to this department. But now, due to the change in the format of the admission test, most students who come here are not interested in learning the subject at all," Professor Shamiul expressed his frustration.

Years ago, the university admission system was a bit different than that of the current one — students applied to a specific department, rather than applying to a large number of departments at once under a single unit.

Although teachers try to motivate the students to grow a passion for the subjects, that is not quite enough for the most.

Some students try to change the department or even university by sitting for the admission test again, incurring a year-loss.

"We admit 50 students every year, but after a year, approximately 10-12 of them leave the department for a better option," said Professor Jyotiswi.

However, Professor Shamiul believes that the number of students admitted into these departments is much higher than it should be. "You do not need to produce 40 Urdu graduates every year, rather a pool of 10 to 15 passionate students would give you a much better outcome."

Coping and thriving

The first step is to accept your major — whether you got into it by choice or by chance, you have to live with it. 

"At first, things might seem difficult, but our teachers motivated us to pursue studies in the department. Being a student of the first ever batch of the department, I got into my department without knowing the prospects after graduation," said Abid Ahmad, a graduate from the Japanese Studies department of Dhaka University.

Abid's worry gradually declined as he explored different opportunities. After graduation, some of his friends opted for higher studies in the social science field with handsome scholarships, and he himself joined Teach For Bangladesh as a Fellow.

"You cannot really label a major good or bad, many opportunities are out there, you just have to make yourself a deserving candidate, and that is up to you," said Abid.