Students in Kashmir are caught in the middle as they end up in choosing unknown careers without the basic knowledge of the profession, thus having their career prospectus bleak.
It has been seen that Jammu and Kashmir produces theoretical literates at various schools, colleges and universities level, who at the end fail to contribute in the socio-economic development of the society.
“The education in the valley should be encouraged as per the latest needs and demands of the society. A student is always in need of proper counselling all the time and the government should work out some constructive plans to abridge all the communication gaps,” Yawar Ahmad, a college student told news agency.
He said that the society should not demoralize the students who are interested in non-conventional courses and there should be awareness to educate people about the scope of such courses.
Farooq Ahmad, a school teacher, said every individual is different and not everyone can be a doctor or an engineer.
“Choosing a field of study that is not really suited to one’s interests could prove disastrous. So, proper career counselling can help students to discover their true potential and interest in various subjects so that they can choose the right career,” he said.
Observers in the field said that education works best when one focuses on thinking and understanding. “A guided learning approach requires more effort in the preparation of materials than a more conventional. The valley is in dire need of a skilled workforce which can create ample job or self- reliant opportunities,” Farooq said.
Farooq Ahmad, an educationist, said that there is a need for a positive policy framework for the students in the valley right from the school level so that they can get a proper orientation from the beginning. “Careers are actually to be planned and those who don’t have any organised thought prior to selection of their career would end up in uncertain and risky futures,” he said.
He said that it is high time for schools to start the information and career counselling among their students right from the eight class.
“Government should at least assign one counsellor and a psychologist to create awareness about the importance of counselling and prepare a psychological graph of each student vis-à-vis personal and academic data. The information can later be quite helpful for students to choose a career as per their interest and coping levels,” he added.