Survey to gauge state of counselling in Delhi schools
Under the NEP, states have to formulate a plan to engage counsellors in schools from the 2022-23 session.
The State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), Delhi, which is the nodal agency for the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) in Delhi schools, has initiated a survey to gauge the prevailing state of counselling services, officials aware of the matter said on Thursday.
Under the NEP, states have to formulate a plan to engage counsellors in schools from the 2022-23 session. The survey seeks to better understand the prevailing scenario of school counselling services in Delhi. It will assess how school counsellors/ educational and vocational guidance counsellors or school counselling psychologists in Delhi are engaged in various schools. Schools have been asked to elicit responses from counsellors engaged with them through an online survey.
The survey (seen by HT) seeks details on available infrastructure, presence of psychological tools and assessments, and the challenges faced by counsellors during sessions. It also seeks feedback for the enhancement of counselling services and suggestions from participants.
According to the NEP 2020 policy document, counsellors or well-trained social workers connected to schools/school complexes will work with students and their parents to ensure that all school-age children are attending and learning. It envisions setting facilitating systems for students till the age of 18. The NEP says that states can undertake innovative practices to engage with counsellors. “Once infrastructure and participation are in place, ensuring quality will be the key in retention of students, so that they (particularly, girls and students from other socio-economically disadvantaged groups) do not lose interest in attending school,” states NEP 2020.
