Govt students to get career guidance books

CHENNAI: In a first, the Tamil Nadu government has decided to distribute career guidance material to students of classes 9-12 in State-run schools.

The decision to introduce the career guidance programme came against the backdrop of most children of government and aided institutions not having the required resources and support in making proper career choices.

A senior official from the School Education Department told DT Next that the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) has constituted a team of resourceful faculty members from the District Institute of Education and Training (DIET) and teachers for developing the guidance material for classes 11 and 12.

Quoting an official survey, he said more than 90% of students in State-run schools know only less than 10 career options like medicine, engineering, polytechnic, law, and a few courses in Arts and Science colleges. “The team held detailed deliberations on the variety of career choices available for the students. This module, incorporating concepts like assessing the interests and aptitude of students and arriving at alternate career choices has been developed by SCERT,” the official said. Stating that more than 15 lakh students in government schools will benefit from this, the official said, “The material would contain detailed deliberations that at present, more than 200 career options are available for students.”

The official added that career counselling material will have the right stream selection after Class 10, admission to dream colleges after Class 12, and information on students’ scholarship prospects abroad.

“It will also have data on college admission procedures and processes to help students take the right step,” he said, adding, the material will also have the latest industry trends and stuff on skill-sets that would be best suited for students to learn and how they could successfully sail from colleges to the world of employment.

He said special training will be given, especially to the teachers of Class 12 on the modules in the career guidance materials and they would in turn orient students on career choices.