St Xavier’s College will counsel all students and their guardians several times before admission to spot any possible difficulties and also to tell them about the support offered to overcome them.

The students will be counselled in five stages. The kind of support provided to students by the institution will be spelt out at every stage, said Father Dominic Savio, the principal of St Xavier’s College (Autonomous).

The decision to introduce “pre-admission” counselling was taken after the alleged suicide of a first-year physics student of the college recently. Hrisheek Koley from Singur in Hooghly was found dead on the railway tracks between Uttarpara and Hindmotor stations last Thursday. A note found in his pocket mentioned his inability to comprehend lectures in English.

The applicants — close to 15 per cent of who come from vernacular-medium schools — may not be aware that teachers give extra attention to students from a vernacular background to help them adjust to the course in case of any trouble in following lectures in English.

Students are at present counselled during the orientation programme, the principal said. “We want to strengthen the orientation by including some additional interactive sessions. We also want to make the counselling more effective by conducting it before admission,” Father Savio said.

The 2019 admissions ended last month.

“Pre-admission” counselling would involve counselling of each student by teachers of the subjects they choose to study. The idea is to help them understand whether they would be comfortable with the course they have chosen.

Students at times choose a particular subject under pressure from family or friends. Counselling could help such students change their mind and choose a subject they have a knack for.

“Say a student opts for political science. Four to five teachers will spell out all the details about the subject.

The course content, syllabus, examination system and everything related to the course will be explained in detail. He can finally take the seat if he feels comfortable,” a teacher said.

The counselling will be held on the day of admission. It will begin with a one-on- one interaction with the principal. Counselling by the subject teachers will follow.

After meeting the teachers, the student will be counselled by mentors, who will identify the strengths and weaknesses of students and guide them to overcome challenges faced by them.

The students will also be counselled by the mentors and psychological counsellors will interact with the applicants and their parents to find out if they were going through any personal, family or financial problems.

The last stage will be an interaction with career counselling experts who will explain to students the opportunities open to them after completing the course.

If a student opts for hostel accommodation, hostel officials will tell them about the rules and regulations and facilities offered.

The admission forms will have columns mentioning the five stages of counselling and every student will have to put a tick mark after completing each interaction.