Bhopal: ‘75 % of students in country have access to specialised career guidance services

BHOPAL (Madhya Pradesh): Professor Manindra Agrawal from IIT Kanpur has said presently only 75 % of the students in the country have access to specialised career guidance services.

He was speaking in a professional development programme on subject 'Teachers as Career’ at Courtyard by Marriott, Bhopal.

The Institute for Career Studies- Academic Centre for Educators (ICS-ACE) Lucknow organised the two-day event in collaboration with the Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore, which ended on Saturday.

The objective of the training programmes is thus to institutionalise educational and career guidance in schools by training the teachers, integrating a career curriculum in the school system and establishing a functional career counselling centre in each school.

Over 45 School heads and educators from 32 government and private schools of Bhopal and adjoining districts participated in this training programme. This one of its kind programmes provided a dynamic platform for both the private and government school educators to collaborate for meaningful, shared learning.

The programme was inaugurated by Rashmi Arun Shami, (IAS), principal secretary, Department of School Education, Govt of Madhya Pradesh. Syed Omar Ali, Director, Bal Bhawan School, Bhopal was guest of honour.

In her keynote address, Shami through relevant case studies emphasised the importance of updated and timely career guidance for students for which all teachers should be adequately equipped. This acquires greater importance for the government schools which cater to lakhs of children in the state belonging to the underprivileged section who are in much need of this support, she added.

Amrita Dass, Founder Director, ICS-ACE shared that this is a strategic initiative towards nation building in the context of NEP 2020 and the post covid career scenario.

Alpa Prabhu, Principal, Sagar Public School, Bhopal shared their best practices for guiding students throughout their school years in making well-informed choices about the course, campus and careers.

Shourya Kuttappa, Academic Manager and Counsellor, Directorate of Admissions & Academic Outreach, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore spoke about ‘Futuristic Skills’. The other esteemed resource persons were Sayed Omar Ali, Director, Bal Bhawan School, Bhopal and Jaya Chakravarty, Principal Satpuda Valley School, Bhopal.

Bhopal is the 4th city in the country where this training programme was organised, following Delhi, Kolkata and Dehradun, Dass said.