We do very little formal career guidance and counselling for students in our country. There are now lots of websites that give information on courses, careers and jobs. But there is no structured career guidance. I believe a good target to aim for, which is very achievable (quickly) is – 2 hours of career counselling for all students in 10th and 12th grade in the country.
With the pandemic, the adoption of digital tools for learning has penetrated much more deeply into the country. It is eminently possible today and very inexpensive for all states to do 2 hours of virtual career counselling for all their students. In-person counselling is better but requires more expenditure.
A good beginning would be to have 2 hours of career guidance for all students in 10th grade and in 12th grade, both of which are points of critical decision making.
Will the career counselling sector rally around an aspirational goal like this?
Some states like Andhra Pradesh and Delhi have done signficantly more than 2 hours of career guidance sessions. Other states are also starting, but this can be accelerated. States seem to be taking an unsustainable route of starting with an ambitious and costly career counselling programme that they don’t have the political will to sustain. Instead the above light intervention can be a starting point, and it can be progressively strengthend as funding becomes available.
2 hours of guidance is only a starting point. Followup resources are needed but they are relatively easy to create on the ‘Net.
The long-term goal is to have counsellors that are permanently part of the government school system.
Comments, feedback and expressions of interest requested.
Bhavishyath Counselling 