Hyderabad: Higher education and career decisions are impacted by guidance, or the lack of it, provided by high schools in as early as Class VIII and IX, says a research conducted by IC3.
Countries like the US already have a sound career guidance instruction in place, but in India the system is limited to only some international and corporate schools.
Around 98 per cent of Indian universities surveyed felt that more information and counseling at the school level would better prepare students for universities.
According to the survey by IC3 (International Career, College and Counselling): “Even today, students prefer traditional courses as career options. And college counseling practices in India are still not at par with international standards. This is majorly due to lack of awareness and opportunities that the vocational courses offer in comparison to conventional ones. Around 40 per cent students say they prefer safer subject options such as Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), followed by 22 per cent opting Art, Entertainment and Sports, 18 per cent choosing Business & Finance and 17 per cent for Health and Medicine.”
Founding president, IC3 Ganesh Kohli said, “There are ample opportunities in humanities and liberties in the future and the students need to be industry-prepared in order to get jobs. But due to lack of awareness among parents and students, these courses are not being tapped. Students should not be pushed into careers that they are not interested in, as it impacts productivity at the end of the day. Around 65 per cent people are actively or passively disengaged from their jobs. That is the reason why students should be made to do what they want, then there are better chances of getting recognised and appreciated, which leaves them with satisfaction.”
“While counselling about the careers, students should not be overloaded with information, they should be informed about their opportunities depending on their interest and aptitude level in a systematic manner,” said Manthan School career counsellor Ramya Modukuri.
She also added that “Students need to be given a chance to explore and evaluate their career options, for which teachers, parents and counsellors should assist. Parents should also be given training on how to deal with their children’s goals, which keep changing from class to class. Children’s behaviour and extra-curricular interests need to be considered while helping them decide their career paths.”
Experts say that the growing trend of counsellors in schools is yet to spread to grassroot level, though it is the need of the hour. Many students would be in confusion over their career paths and goal setting and say they do not know what they are interested in and what they want to become.
In such circumstances, applying different paedogogical methods and psychometric analysis would help them learn that.
