Eager to see their children settled with good jobs, parents often decide their career path, sometimes ignoring the child’s interest or inclination, said heads of schools at a recent panel discussion.
The need to counsel parents on how to help and guide their children is thus vital, said the teachers.
Career counselling has to be done right at the school level to help students and parents make the right choices, said teachers.
“It is necessary to counsel parents because many of them want their children to pursue a lucrative career ignoring the fact that the child may be interested in pursuing something else, said Satabdi Bhattacharjee, principal of The Newtown School.
“Parents want their kids to become doctors and engineers just because they are studying science. It is only when some students fail to crack the entrance test that the parents decide to switch careers. But by then the kid would have lost a lot of time and energy,” she said.
Bhattacharjee was speaking at a panel discussion on “Finding Purpose and Meaning Through Counselling,” at La Martiniere for Girls on July 2.
The session was part of a daylong programme, the 22nd IC3 Regional Forum.
IC3 Regional forums are a series of events in high schools that bring together principals, teachers, college counsellors with university and industry delegates to discuss the transition from high school to college and beyond.
“You can make a career out of a hobby and we need to help the child understand that. The academic counsellor helps them understand their likes and guides them accordingly. A child may otherwise choose a career under family or peer pressure,” said Rupkatha Sarkar, principal, La Martiniere for Girls.
Sarkar said that career counselling also helps students understand what skills they need to develop for college life and help them chanellise their energy.
“We cannot blame parents totally, often they are not aware of the emerging trends,” said John Bagul, principal of South City International School.
The two other speakers on the panel were John Stephen, acting principal, La Martiniere for Boys, and Vijaylaxmi Kumar, principal, Asian International School.