Everyone has to go through the struggles of life. But when it comes to mundane jobs, there is always the desire that one had learnt these skill early on in life. From carpentry to handling taxes, every skill is acquired and can be easily taught as children through one’s academic life. The smallest of handiwork can become a task where there is a need to call a dedicated person and spend money for something that could have been done ourselves.
In Goa, many college students hope that they learnt the much needed accounting skills that an adult needs for the various expenses they have. They argue that even pursuing a commerce degree wouldn’t help them calculate taxes and be ready for the experience. Jayden Pais, a multi-talented student of St Xavier’s College, Mapusa, feels that as a child he would have loved to learn the basic adulting skills. He says, “There are so many skills I wish I was taught in high school. But I really think it’s up to us, if we really want to learn it at that stage. But nonetheless, if I were given a chance to learn some important things, I would have taken it.”
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Listing out all the skills he would have loved to learn in his younger days, he says, “I really wish I had the opportunity to learn some hands on accounting skills and some simple tax calculation so that I could manage my finances since I am working part time now. I think that it is beneficial for everyone in general because it is essential in today’s world. I wished I learnt about the 50-30-20 rule of budgeting sooner where 50 percent of the income goes to needs, 30 percent for wants, and 20 percent to savings and investing.”
A student pursuing her HCM diploma in the Goa Institute of Management, Aastha Gaur, says, “As a high school student, we were taught everything except a basic skill, that is, investment, a skill that proves to be beneficial in the long run. As soon as a student learns how to invest and create wealth for themselves, it is not only better for that particular individual, but also for the nation if it produces youth with financially sound minds. I hope we realize the importance of investing and personal finance as early as possible and treat it as a basic life skill that needs to be instilled in the students from their initial learning phase itself.”
Students say that knowledge about these skills would definitely be useful as some don’t have the basic understanding about most practical skills. Jayden also insightfully speaks about how learning basic skills could have been a huge help in his young adult life where it would be easier instead of having to figure everything out on one’s own. “Another skill is simple house electrification and installations. Simple wiring techniques and know-how which is essential for everyone, whether they’d want to pursue science or not. Learning about this, not just theoretically but practically, would make us self-sufficient in situations where we need to wait on a handyman to come help us.”
Azhan Shaikh, a student of Don Bosco College, Panjim, stresses on the importance of learning extra skills which are commonly used later on in life. He says, “It is very important that students are taught extra skills beside their curriculum because it positively impacts our life later on and we don’t have to struggle with decision making, problem solving and communication which we can have classes for in high school.” He agrees that schools do provide some necessary skill training classes when it comes to creativity but lacked most life skills required for the ‘real world’. He added, “Although they may not have classes for these types of life skills, they practice it with students that are already good at it and don’t give others a chance.”
Lianne Pereira, a student of SS Dempo College of Commerce and Economics, says, “Confidence is a very important skill one should carry on in life. School is a place a student is moulded to take on the real world, learning to interact and speak well is something that we are taught well but to build the confidence to do that is something that is not taught to us.”
Most students have undiscovered talents which they later realise could have been harnessed in their school life itself. Students, once exposed to the array of skills they can practice and learn skills in the future.
