Occupation choices of high school and college students with special reference to teaching and research

As India's higher education sector is poised to grow at a tremendous pace, one of its main challenges would be provision of quality education. Teacher quality has been identified as one of the most critical factors affecting educational quality. As such, the immense importance of attracting high-quality entrants into the teaching profession cannot be overemphasized. In India there is a rising concern shared by many, especially in academia, that nowadays relatively meritorious students are mostly unwilling to consider teaching and research as possible career options. While evidence from other countries indicates that teaching, a relatively low paying occupation, may be a poor career choice, the literature on this area is sparse in the case of India. This paper addresses precisely this issue as it studies how students, who are prospective labour market entrants, perceive teaching as a profession relative to other available career options. Our analysis, based on a sample survey carried out among high school and college students from Delhi and Kolkata, suggests that for the majority of students surveyed, teaching is not a 'first-best' or 'most preferred' career option. Further, in their view, rather than raising salaries, it is more important to bring about changes in the nature of the teachers job, to make this a more attractive career option.