Prioritise students’ careers: CM to schools

Panaji: In terms of providing knowledge to students and accelerating their careers forward, schools shouldn’t operate as factories, but should rather take a deeper interest in nurturing the students’ skill sets,, said CM Pramod Sawant at the launch of the Career Jagor initiative.

The initiative is aimed at providing guidance to students of Class X and XII,to make informed career choices. It includes appointing a teacher at each secondary and higher secondary school as a career ambassador. Nearly 600 teachers across Goa schools have been appointed as career ambassadors.

The training session began for teachers on providing career counselling in all professional avenues, and the career ambassadors will then be conducting a session in their respective schools. The initiative begins on April 24, when counselling sessions will be held every day.

“As a teacher, you can gain the trust of the students, as they listen to you and see you every day. You know your students, with their strengths and weaknesses. You don’t need to give them an aptitude test to know them. All they need is support,” he said.

The chief minister said after the implementation of NEP 2020, there are multiple streams and avenues available for students, which can be made aware to the students through guidance and thorough counselling. The career ambassadors will be conducting regular sessions and will be handing students pamphlets that contain 12 QR codes, each QR code exploring a career option.

Meghana Shetgaonkar, director of State Council of Educational Research and Training, said the SCERT will be dedicating a career cell consisting of representatives from various departments and industries