Koshur Samachar

The CBSE’s decision to make mental health and career counsellors mandatory in all affiliated schools marks a long-overdue shift from a marks-centric system to a child-centric one. In today’s complex, high-pressure world, this reform recognises a simple but powerful truth: education is not merely about academic performance but about nurturing balanced, confident and self-aware individuals from their formative years. The primitive years of childhood are the most crucial. While it is true that children spend most of their time at home, the most influential impact on their personality and worldview comes from school, where they spend seven or more hours each day. School is where a child learns not just mathematics or language, but also discipline, teamwork, empathy, social habits and the ability to navigate differences. It is here that behaviour is fine-tuned, and values are quietly shaped. Yet, children come from diverse social, economic and emotional backgrounds, each carrying their own set of anxieties, insecurities and pressures into the classroom.

Some children manage to resolve confusion or stress on their own, but many cannot. Academic pressure, fear of failure, peer competition, bullying, family conflicts, unrealistic parental expectations and social media influence increasingly weigh on young minds. Without structured support, these issues often remain invisible until they erupt into anxiety, depression, aggression or withdrawal. Mandatory socio-emotional counsellors can become the first line of care-identifying early warning signs, offering a safe space to speak, guiding parents and teachers, and preventing minor issues from turning into lifelong scars. Equally transformative is the compulsory provision of career counselling. For decades, Indian schooling has pushed children-especially average students-into narrow definitions of success, typically limited to becoming doctors or engineers. This “default approach” ignores individual aptitude, interest and temperament. Career counsellors can help students understand their strengths, explore diverse career pathways and make informed choices. Such guidance can reduce frustration, dropouts and the sense of failure that haunts many young adults later in life.

Undoubtedly, appointing trained counsellors will impose a financial burden on schools. However, this cost must be seen as an investment rather than an expense. The long-term benefits-emotionally resilient children, informed career choices and healthier adults-far outweigh the immediate financial implications. Ultimately, the true aim of education is to shape capable, confident and content citizens. CBSE’s reform is a vital step in that direction, placing children’s well-being at the heart of schooling.