The twain was never disconnected in India

I met with some of my classmates last evening.  There were three doctors - two are practicing in India and one in the UK.  The two Indian doctors got at least 5 calls each in that one hour.  It was clearly their off-duty hours, but they also ran hospitals themselves.  So, there is no surprise that they got so many calls.  But this is the case with most doctors in India.  The classmate from the UK said that it is rare there and doctors complain if they disturbed in off-duty hours.

So, in India, at least in the medical profession, the work extends beyond the usual working hours with varying levels of engagement.  It is probably true with a few other professions, but it depends on the individuals.  It also reflects in the interaction with the family.  Let's focus only on the positive side of these interactions.

A child who looks up to his father would want to be like his father.  If the father exhibits a positive attitude towards his work, the child would like to pursue the same.  Not surprisingly the children of the two doctors are already in their path towards medicine as their career.  On the family side, the child knows about the father's work pressures and is prepared to step into the same profession.  On the professional side, there is a possibility of excellence if the child is exposed to the profession from an early age.  (No, I don't mean the child performs surgery, but can gain basic knowledge on diseases and treatments.)  This will give them a head-start when they begin their career.   This is also true with other professions.  I would consider it lucky if the boy gets to follow their father's profession.  It is likely to be the same with daughters and mothers.

This is an aspect of any traditional society.  The family continues with a profession, occasionally excelling but generally coping well with the pressures of the profession.

But our educational system does not want to make use of this nature of our society.  It believes in meritocracy with some conditions.   Giving preferential treatment based on the family profession was never considered, though a preferential treatment on the family background, namely caste was allowed.  I think, if we are to encourage at least a small number of young people to follow their parents' profession, it would be very beneficial to society.  For example, 5% of medical seats may be reserved for offspring of doctors.  This is not nepotism.  The young one will have to compete with the rest but can be given a small push to ensure he or she continues the parent's profession.  This is not the same as the unfairly maligned குலக்கல்வி.  The original intention of the program was to engage children in some professional training, but the #D stock managed to twist it as குலக்கல்வி.  This could be expanded to a few other difficult professions like agriculture.

In a way, affluent parents manage to ensure to give their children an education that they think is good for them.  But this is informal and sometimes needs the bending of rules.  Instead, formalizing a preference to continue a parent's profession would benefit families and society.