The Role of Career Guidance and Counselling as a Necessity in our Academic Curriculum

(image: curtsey: www.observerbd.com)

India, besides being the largest democracy, with 54% of its population below 25 years, is also the youngest country in the world with a buoyant youth poised to leap-frog into a new era led by leaders with the visionary policies of Make In India, Skill India, Atma Nirvar India and such other far-sighted programmes. The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, in his forward to the National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, 2015 says, “Millions and millions of Indian youth should acquire the skills which could contribute towards making India a modern country”.

However, the lofty ideals notwithstanding, certain startling facts too must raise questions in our minds before we sit down to formulate a dynamic and holistic policy to empower our youth, albeit the students, to meet the needs of a future India. The mismatch between the demand and supply of employable, job-ready candidates is resulting in a continually widening employability gap. According to the latest data from NASSCOM, over 3 million graduates and post graduates are added to the Indian workforce each year, out of which only 25% of technical and 10-20% of non-technical graduates are considered ‘employable’ by the IT and ITES segments in the country. Dubiously, we have the largest pool of graduates who are unemployable. It is indeed eye-opening.

To meet this burgeoning gap between demand and supply, we must take up one aspect that needs our immediate attention and that is, Career Guidance and Counselling; starting at the formative days of school life itself with an aim to marry the futures of our youth with their aptitude, interests and abilities; which are the basic parameters in choosing a successful Career path.

What is Career Guidance and Counselling Programme:

It is a comprehensive, developmental program designed to assist individuals in making and implementing informed educational and occupational choices. A Career Guidance and Counselling Programme develop an individual's competencies in self-knowledge, educational and occupational exploration, and career planning. It aims at:

• Quantifying essential factors for identifying the real potential and guiding students towards the right career path.
• Impressing upon the students the importance of career coaching and right guidance before they are going to choose an academic stream after taking the board exams.
• Helping to choosing a career goal, planning and give a direction to students for a better future ahead.

With Career Counselling and Guidance, students would be able to know:

• Their aptitude and interests
• Strengths and weaknesses of a particular interest
• Making choice of stream for education after class 10
• Career options available in market as per their academic choice
• Career options available as per their interest
• Some alternate career options if they decide to change their stream in future

Incorporating the concept of Career Counselling into the academic curriculum will help both the teacher and the taught focused towards capacity-building and leading towards not just the academic competencies but also exploitation of the full potential of the students, skill orientation and goal setting, a mentorship in place at the grassroots school level and foster interest on the part of the students to attend classes, partake in activities other than mere studies; which is in line with the principles and interventions spelled out in the new Draft Education Policy, 2019. This holistic development will empower our youth towards a meaningful future of confidence and best practices to contribute to nation building and become a better citizen.

In a diverse country like India, the school administrators often thought that our teachers and religious leaders could take on the role of Counsellors. However, it must be realised that counselling is not just for academics and vocation alone, but also to handle the dynamics of psychological, behavioral, disciplinal, adolescent and filial issues too in the absence of the parents. A critical aspect being the period of adolescence, when boys and girls move from childhood to adulthood, with its manifested emotional, social and physical predicaments. This is the period the adolescents develop their sense of personal identity and ought to be listened to. This is where the role and the presence of a professional Career Counsellor and Guide can have a highly enriching and sobering effect on the adolescent’s minds. It was with these ramifications in view that the NCERT came out with a formal ‘Guidance and Counselling Guidelines for States’ in Jan 2015 covering all the aspects of Guidance and Counselling. Subsequently, the governing body of the CBSE came out with a directive that mandated the presence of a full-time ‘Counsellor and Wellness Teacher’ in all the registered CBSE Schools of India (CBSE Handbook for Students, 2019, page 136), failing which they would lose their registration. The importance of Career Guidance and Counselling is a founding principle in our school curriculum today.

As we go to press, the Govt. has just announced long awaited National Education Policy, 2020 on 29 July 2020; coming after the last NEP having been set-up in 1968 and modified in 1992. It is expected to bring in a paradigm shift in the Educational scenario of India placing it amongst the best in the world. It will usher in a new system of education, multi and inter-disciplinary, non-rigid formation of streams at the schools. Tech will form a part of educational planning, teaching, learning, assessment, teacher, school and student learning; objective and descriptive exam system, vocational-based training as a part of curriculum, life-skill orientation, review assessment of performance spread over the year, test of knowledge application and not rote learning. A plethora of revolutionary initiatives is expected to bring in a new dawn in the Educational sector with the HRD Ministry rechristened as the Ministry of Education. In this curvy-linear changing scenario, the relevance of Career Counselling will assume a stellar role in the implementation of the lofty objectives of the NEP, 2020.

The path to a proper education is certainly full of trials and tribulations for any student along the way. This is where the importance of today's Career Guidance and Counselling comes into play. Each child has his domain to shine in life. He should know it and feel proud of it. Showing them the diverse and holistic ways that could help them develop their talents in varied fields is the mantra of success. The overall development of the students is what every school and parent seeks to achieve. Career Counselling and Guidance support will make it easier for students to gain clarity. The constant and continuous interaction between the students and the Counsellor will certainly bring about the most desirable results over time; like Eleanor Roosevelt said, “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams”.

(The Article appeared in a shorter format in the New Indian Express earlier.)

Rajalaxmi Padhi was born in the holy city of Puri. She holds a Masters in Education and a Doctorate in Education. She is an Educational Counsellor, having completed the International Diploma in Guidance and Counselling conducted by NCERT. A former Lecturer of Education and a visiting faculty at various colleges; presently, along with her husband she runs an organization that counsels and empowers the youth to exploit their full potential. 

Debi Padhi was born in the city of Cuttack, India. A retired naval aviator, with a Masters in English Literature and a Masters in Journalism and Mass Communications; has a passion for the creative arts and is a freelance writer on varied subjects that have been published widely. He, along with his wife are running an organization that counsels and empowers the youth to exploit their full potential.