Diving deep into the dos and don’ts in the attempt to crack the civil services examinations, Nikhil B., Superintendent of Police, Raichur, advised the students to get rid of the negative mindset and develop a positive approach to achieve the desired goals.
Addressing the young students at The Hindu Education Plus Career Counselling programme at the auditorium of Navodaya Institute of Technology in Raichur on Saturday, he held that a negative mindset would discourage one from taking up challenging tasks and, thus, disrupt one’s progress.
“Don’t neglect or take anything lightly. You will never know what is in store for you unless you seriously try. Never think that you cannot do this thing or that just because it seems to be unachievable. Just get rid of such a negative mindset which obstructs your progress. Develop a positive approach that encourages you to take up tough challenges and energises you to achieve your goals,” he said.
Sharing his own experiences in his interactive session that caught the attention of the young students, Mr. Nikhil stressed how reading the newspapers, particularly The Hindu, on a daily basis had helped him a lot to acquire knowledge and crack the UPSC examinations in the second attempt.
“UPSC exams are not 20-20 cricket matches but test matches. Hardly a few people can clear it in their first attempt. Most would clear them in their subsequent attempts. I cleared on my second attempt. Go for the UPSC if you are prepared for a prolonged and consistent hard work,” he said.
Mr. Nikhil spent a considerable time in his speech to describe how the UPSC exams were conducted in a phased manner and gave useful tips to get through each phase. He also advised the students not to rely on luck factor as it would totally be dismissed by the negative marking.
“If you want make money and become billionaires like Ambani and Adani, don’t go for UPSC. Joining civil services and aspiring to become billionaires is a dangerous thinking. It would not only spoil your image but also destroy the society. If you want to make money, you can join other courses and become entrepreneur,” he said.
Repeatedly stressing the need for reading the newspapers, especially The Hindu, Mr. Nikhil advised the students to buy newspapers, even if it would be at the cost of a cup of tea, and read them daily so that they could gain knowledge. He also told the students to make use of the advancements in the field of information technology to acquire knowledge and crack the UPSC or any other competitive examinations.
Suresh Patel, Associate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at HKE Society’s Engineering College in Raichur, asked the students to make career choices completely based on their passions and not on the desires of their parents, relatives, friends or those in their neighbourhood.
He gave detailed description of the four main branches in Engineering – Computer Science, Electronics & Electrical, Civil and Mechanical – and the several branches in each branch to choose from as per one’s passion and desire and job opportunities in each of them.
Dr. Basavaraj M. Patil, principal of Raichur Institute of Medical Sciences, gave descriptions of the opportunities in the field of medical sciences apart from sharing his own experiences in achieving his goals against all odds.
Abdul Nasir Mausam, a professional career counsellor from CIGMA [Career Information & Guidance Movement for All] Kalaburagi, engaged the students with his impressive and interactive speech to give details about the less-chosen career opportunities to get lucrative jobs.
Sadashivappa Kyadiger (Rtd.), Deputy Director of Pre-University Education, who had had good experience in handling the matters at Karnataka Examination Authority, gave useful information to the students about the things to be taken care of while filing the applications and correcting the information within the stipulated time.
