RESHAPING GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING IN SCHOOLS WITH REFERENCE TO NATIONAL EDUCATION POLICY (NEP 2020)

From past couple of decades, in the era of Globalization, the rapidly growing urbanization has led to remarkable change in family structure, from combined to nuclear. The alarming complexity of the modern society, characterized by a gap between family members, loss of sharing of feelings and problems with each other, is one of the root causes for enhancing mental stresses in school students. Furthermore, the availability and affordability of information technology gadgets followed by their excessive and undue uses has noticeably decreased the spontaneous participation of students in physical activities/games, affecting their physical fitness. As a result, many schools are witnessing noticeable increase in students possessing physical and mental stresses, restricting their holistic development To overcome this, use of counselling and guidance has been considered as an effective and efficient approach and accordingly as an integral part of school education. It plays a crucial role in creating an inclusive environment, where every student feels to be special and supported. In every National Education Policy due importance has been given to guidance and counselling. Very recently, Central Government of India has introduced the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020), which is expected to bring radical changes in entire education sector, from schools to institutes of higher education. Recognizing the essentiality of guidance and counseling services, it has been included as a fundamental component of NEP 2020. Being a teacher in education, an important mediator between schools and institutes of higher education, herein an attempt is made to critically analyze the proposed aspirations of guidance and counseling in school education, along with the challenges and strategies for its effective implementation, with reference to NEP 2020.