VIJAYAWADA: The day is not far off when there will be a dearth of graduates in pure science, going by the present craze for professional courses like engineering, medicine, pharmacy, biochemistry, biotechnology and the like among students.

Because of the gap in demand and supply, graduates in biology will stand to gain a lot in the days to come, as zoology, botany and life sciences are a must-study up to high school. To raise awareness on this aspect and attract students, the Andhra Loyola College (ALC) has decided to offer scholarships to those joining biology courses. A student who completes botany and zoology can easily get through EdCET and pass B.Ed, which opens many opportunities in corporate institutions and also in DSC.

ALC Principal Francis Xavier, Correspondent D. Showraiah and Dean Mathew Srirangam told reporters on Tuesday that lack of awareness about the opportunities created by B.Sc biology courses had led many students to opt for other streams despite their initial interest in life sciences. They sought to assure the students interested in biology courses not to hesitate to pursue these courses in view of the emerging career opportunities and avenues in higher education in immediate future. Mr. Srirangam said that in their courses, the students would have the additional advantage of doing skill-based elective subjects that would help them fare well in their future endeavours. These electives include immunology and ornamental fisheries, which create jobs in aquaria for interested students.

Rose Mary, head of the department of botany, said that skill-based electives in horticulture, medicinal botany and molecular biology were being offered as these would be of huge support to students. She said that at the ALC, they were giving scholarships to meet 50 per cent tuition fee for eligible students joining biology courses.