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Marks alone no longer define success. As choices grow complex, schools must make counselling a core part of education to help students navigate careers, stress and decisions.
Schools are moving beyond marks, focusing on counselling and guidance to help students make informed academic and career choices. (AI Generated Image)
By Ganesh Kohli
India’s education ecosystem is undergoing an important shift. While academic achievement remains central, there is growing recognition that student success today depends not only on marks, but also on clarity of direction, emotional resilience and the ability to make informed decisions. As learning pathways diversify and career landscapes change quickly, structured counselling is becoming essential to preparing students for the future.
For decades, counselling in many schools has been treated as a supplementary or reactive service, usually accessed during board exam years, admission cycles or visible stress. The environment students navigate today, however, is far more complex. They must choose subjects earlier, compare multiple higher education pathways and interpret an overwhelming amount of online information about careers and skills.
In such a system, guidance can no longer remain occasional. It needs to be continuous and built into the learning journey. Findings from the IC3 Institute’s Student Quest Report indicate how rapidly the student decision-making landscape is changing. Students are exploring career options much earlier and increasingly relying on digital platforms and AI-based tools for information.
While access to information has increased, clarity has not necessarily improved. Students who engage in structured guidance processes report better communication with parents, greater confidence in their choices and improved well-being. The findings underline a simple point: access to information alone is not enough; students need help interpreting it. Policy direction is beginning to reflect this reality.
The CBSE’s decision to mandate dedicated counsellors for both career guidance and mental health signals wider recognition that emotional well-being and future planning are closely connected, yet require specialised support. This marks a significant step toward strengthening student support systems in schools. The nature of student pressure has also changed. Academic performance still matters, but decision-making pressure has intensified.
Students are often expected to make important choices about streams, courses and careers while still developing self-awareness. Technology has accelerated this process. Online resources now allow teenagers to explore global opportunities within minutes. Yet an abundance of information does not automatically lead to informed decisions; without reflection and guidance, it often creates confusion and comparison-driven anxiety.
Counselling, therefore, is not merely about suggesting career options. It helps students understand their interests, motivations and learning preferences so they can make decisions with confidence. It also improves communication within families, enabling more constructive discussions between students and parents during high-pressure academic years.
Across many schools, educators have increasingly begun integrating guidance conversations into regular school life. Rather than waiting for board classes, discussions about interests, skills and future pathways are introduced earlier. Teachers are being trained to act as first-level mentors, while professional counselors provide deeper support where needed.
These approaches show that guidance works best when it is accessible and ongoing, not limited to exam seasons. Creating such systems does not always require extensive infrastructure. Schools can start by introducing structured career conversations, providing reliable information resources and establishing referral pathways to trained counselors. Teaching students how to use digital tools responsibly and evaluate information critically is equally important.
These steps help ensure that students are supported academically, emotionally and directionally. India stands at a crucial point in its education journey. As policy frameworks increasingly emphasise well-being, employability and future-ready skills, counselling must be treated as a core part of schooling. Strong guidance systems will help students navigate choices with confidence rather than uncertainty.
In the years ahead, the success of education systems will not be measured only by examination results, but also by how effectively they prepare students to make thoughtful decisions about their futures. Embedding structured counselling into everyday schooling is therefore not an optional reform. It is necessary infrastructure for a future-ready generation.
(The author is the Founder of IC3 Movement. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views).
February 16, 2026, 14:42 IST
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