Ahmedabad: The Gujarat education department has started a new training programme for secondary and higher secondary school teachers to help them provide better career guidance to students. Through the programme, teachers will be introduced to different higher education courses, professional programmes, employment-oriented courses and government schemes so that they can guide students on options available after school. The initiative is also linked to Gujarat's efforts to improve its performance under the Ministry of Education's Performance Grading Index (PGI).
Teachers to Receive Information on Courses and Career Options
The training is designed to give teachers a broader understanding of the academic and career pathways available to students after Class 10 and Class 12. Sessions will cover areas such as medical education, engineering, skill-based courses, agricultural education, ITI programmes and other employment-oriented options. The idea is to enable teachers to provide students with more informed guidance instead of limiting career discussions to a few commonly chosen courses.
Training to Be Delivered Through Vande Gujarat
Rather than requiring teachers from different districts to attend a common physical training programme, the education department is using Gujarat's existing educational broadcasting network. The sessions are being telecast through BISAG's Vande Gujarat Channel 9, allowing teachers across the state to access the recorded lectures. BISAG's official information confirms that the Vande Gujarat network is used for educational and teacher-training programmes. The education department has asked district education officers to circulate the schedule among schools and ensure teacher participation.
What Will Teachers Learn?
The training schedule covers different education and career areas on different days. The first session, held on October 1, focused on courses offered by Kaushalya-The Skill University. The programme then moved to medical education courses and schemes linked to the Directorate of Employment and Training. A session on degree engineering courses is scheduled for October 5, followed by sessions on diploma engineering programmes and courses offered by Kamdhenu University.
Further sessions are planned around agricultural universities and ITI courses.
Training Schedule
| Date | Focus Area |
|---|---|
| October 1 | Kaushalya-The Skill University courses |
| October 3 | Medical education and employment-related schemes |
| October 5 | Degree engineering courses |
| October 6 | Diploma engineering and Kamdhenu University courses |
| October 7 | Agricultural university programmes |
| October 8 | ITI courses |
Why Career Guidance Has Become a Focus
The programme has been introduced in connection with Indicator 6.2 of the Performance Grading Index, which relates to career guidance for students. The PGI framework assesses different aspects of school education through 101 indicators. Gujarat has identified 23 priority indicators, with career guidance among the areas receiving attention. For schools, this makes career counselling more than an occasional activity. Teachers are being given structured information that they can use when students seek advice about higher education, vocational training or employment-oriented courses.
A Wider Role for School Teachers
For many students, especially those studying outside major urban centres, school teachers are often among the first people they approach when deciding what to study after Class 10 or Class 12. The new training programme attempts to strengthen that first level of guidance by making teachers more familiar with the range of courses and institutions available in Gujarat. The use of Vande Gujarat also allows the department to reach teachers across districts without bringing everyone to a single training location. Gujarat's educational broadcasting network already supports supplementary education and teacher-training initiatives.
The Larger Picture
The initiative comes at a time when students have a much wider range of options after school, from traditional degree programmes to skill-based, technical and vocational courses. By training teachers across these areas, Gujarat is attempting to make career guidance more structured at the school level. The success of the programme, however, will ultimately depend on how effectively teachers use this information while advising individual students.
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