Pursuing Social Science After SEE/+2?

How many of you have considered pursuing social science after your Secondary Education Examination (SEE) or at the very least after your +2 level examination? It's likely that your parents put undue pressure on you to 'let you' pursue at least management or your mindset towards social sciences is subpar. It is stigmatized as those pursuing social science or humanities are regarded as having inferior academic performance, a viewpoint shared by not only generations before us but also by the educated modern-day adults. Well, let me tell you the truth: It is equally challenging in diverse ways and to varying degrees, just like other physical sciences.

INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL SCIENCE

According to NEB’s (Nepal Education Board) statistics, amongst the 4,14,481 students who pass the SEE exam on average each year, only 48,433 choose to major in humanities and the majority of students enroll assuming the subject to be relatively simple to study. People barely even understand what social science is, let alone the learned academic orientation and proper enrollment in the field. In a nutshell, social science can be defined or explained as the scientific discipline that focuses on examining how societies function and how people interact with one another within them, which includes economics, political science, sociology, anthropology, and psychology as the main fields of study. In addition, the interdisciplinary field like history, geography, criminology, philosophy, population, literature and other such studies are regarded as the vague branches of the primary subjects. Besides, it is regarded as science since it includes empirical research along with:

• a dedication to obtaining and analyzing data about the world as meticulously, accurately, and without mistakes as possible.
• an agreement to gather and evaluate such information in a way that is as impartial as is humanly possible.
• a dedication to only accepting findings as accurate when they have undergone extensive verification.
• a determination to change one's opinions, especially strongly held ones, if new information reveals that they are faulty.

Each topic interacts with one another and frequently exchanges thoughts and concepts in the arena of social science. Human behavior, social institutions, and organizations are the focus of social science research. Regarding the various fields of study and subdivisions they cover, social sciences have a broad scope.

SCOPES AND CAREER FIELDS OF SOCIAL SCIENCE

A common concern that arises in every high school graduate frequently is “What can I become upon completion of the relevant course?”. Most people believe that social work is the only area of social science, and even social work does not have many career options; one must either work in academic institutions as a teacher or in development organizations like NGO, INGO, and GO's where people from all academic disciplines can work. However the reality is contradictory, the possibilities and boundaries of social science are expanding annually as human brains continue to develop and broaden our perspectives on it. We are constantly surrounded by an enormous number of things that are currently ongoing and changing. We ask ourselves a lot of relevant questions every day, including why things happen, how they occur, what caused a situation, what will happen as the outcome, and many other similar queries. We require social science to address all of these queries, issues and more. Although there are a lot more substantial career options in this field, the following are some common choices and alternatives:

• Human Resource Manager (HR)
• Sociological analyzer
• Public Relation Manager (PR)
• Political Consultant
• Researcher
• Market Research Analyst
• Social worker
• Urban planner
• Literature writer
• Professional course writer
• Psychologist (Clinical, counseling, sports, educational, organizational etc)
• Journalist
• Teacher/ Professor/ Lecturer
• Media Company Manager

APPLICATIONS OF SOCIAL SCIENCE

One must be able to determine how and why social sciences are applied in our everyday lives after comprehending their significance and examining their topics of study and scope. Social scientists investigate topics that frequently have a direct effect on daily functioning, regardless of us being aware of it or not, it is used practically in every profession and study. Although it would be nearly impossible to put them all down, we can attempt to enlist a few of them.

• Without the participation and collaboration of a child psychologist and a social worker with the police, an inquiry into every incidence of child labor or abuse cannot be lawfully begun.
• To comprehend, analyze, and explain the economic crises brought on by our decisions and those of the government of the nation, economists are required.
• We need historians to learn a relentless, systematic narration and research the intricate political, social, economic, artistic, and culinary histories and professional writers to write about it.
• We need sociologists to do research, analyze data, and evaluate society in order to cover topics including gender studies, rural sociology, urban sociology, political, and economic sociology.
• Social scientists' work has a direct effect on human health as these professionals examine and evaluate medical studies, policies and legal requirements in order to advocate changes to health care systems.
• Literature, oral tradition, and written documents are all studied by philologists in order to confirm their validity, determine how they first appeared, and interpret their significance.
• Even in the field of science and technology, large corporations like Google, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft use social science experts to investigate how their businesses interact with society, and how they can influence people to maximize the optimal use of the respective inventions.
• Additionally, they collaborate with educational institutions and education boards to identify more efficient ways to enhance education, mental wellness of students, guidance, and leadership in the schools.

SOCIAL SCIENCES AND INSTITUTIONS

Different social science subjects, such as economics, political science, psychology, philosophy, history, literature, sociology, anthropology, media studies, and journalism, are offered and introduced by Tribhuwan, Pokhara, Kathmandu, and Purbanchal Universities and the colleges that they are affiliated with. The study on “Social Science in Nepal” by Krishna Hachhethu claims that among the five universities in Nepal, TU offers courses in every field and it alone has assumed responsibility for social sciences. The major teaching organization at TU is the faculty of humanities and social sciences, which oversees 26 departments that study a variety of topics that can be largely categorized into three groups: language and literature, liberal arts, and social sciences. But nevertheless, Nepali universities only offer a very limited number of subjects for further study. People need to travel overseas to complete abstract, tangible and specific studies.

CHALLENGES OF STUDYING SOCIAL SCIENCE IN NEPAL

This is not intended to underestimate the value and contributions of the existing amenities provided by institutions, universities and government. However, to advance social science in Nepal, a number of obstacles must be overcome. Some concerns include

• For such a broad and expansive sector of education, universities and the government have launched very few disciplines and subfields.
• Our country needs improved campaigns, actions to inform educational policy, and campaigning for social science aid in this rapidly changing world..
• Pure science is prioritized by both the government and the general public, while social science receives a smaller amount of consideration and attention.
• Lack of proper academic orientation as the students have a huge knowledge gap regarding social science. They associate social science with the last option of educational alternatives to complete studies for the name sake against the pure science as their first option and management being the second option.
• Even the teachers make the social science students feel inferior by labeling them as unmotivated and poor learners and failing to bother teaching the content properly while consistently disregarding the requirements of the students. Also, they keep missing classes without providing any prior information and explanation, indicating that they don't value students' time.