The prolonged closure and uncertainty over the reopening of schools in the wake of the pandemic is what forced the Career Guidance and Adolescence Counselling Cell of the General Education Department to switch to the online platform and launch a YouTube channel to reach out to students, parents, and counsellors last year.
That perceived obstacle seems to have turned out to be a blessing in disguise in hindsight, with the cell enhancing its reach like never before, prompting the department to make the stopgap arrangement a permanent feature for its future campaigns.
“We were never able to impart training to all of our 3,000-odd counsellors owing to logistical reasons in the past and often had to restrict it to a few hundred at a time. But this time, we could cover the entire base during a five-day comprehensive training, besides another two-day training on giving exam-related tips to students. We are now planning to organise both online and offline sessions simultaneously in the future,” said C.M. Azeem, State coordinator, Career Guidance and Adolescent Counselling Cell.
The cell has 1,650 ‘Souhruda’ coordinators in higher secondary schools, 900 high school counsellors, 1,650 career guides, and 350 career masters in vocational higher secondary schools. Souhruda clubs were set up in schools a decade ago for adolescent counselling and health care.
The online reach, both through Zoom and the YouTube channel, also helped the cell maximise participation this time for Disha, the annual higher studies expo, with over 4.50 lakh participants, while the previous biggest participation when it was held offline was over 45,000 the year before. The event familiarises students with various courses and reputed higher education institutes, besides facilitating interactions with experts from diverse disciplines.
It was held in November-December and hence proved timely, since it coincided with the invitation of applications by some premium institutes.
Sessions helping students and parents chart career plans are usually held at the opening of Plus One classes, and life skill training for Plus One students by teachers trained by experts from the Bengaluru-based National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences, training sessions for 3,300 student leaders across 1,650 schools, civil services exam training for interested students, parent-centric training for effective adolescent parenting, and training for teachers on shifting from online to offline mode while motivating students are among the online sessions.
