A survey capturing the impact of career and college counselling was launched at the International Career and College Counseling (IC3) conference held recently in the Capital. Conducted in support with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) across India and other strategic locations of the world, the survey highlighted that 56 per cent of the universities feel that high schools need to play a bigger role in the smooth transition of students to universities. A whopping 98 per cent of universities feel that more information and counselling at the school level would better prepare students for university. 58 per cent of universities’ prime focus area while interacting with high-schools is “relationship-building or engagement” and 41 per cent of universities admit that their focus area is mainly “student recruitment”.

Despite recent political shifts in different countries, 31 per cent of universities have observed marginal increase (nearly 3-9 per cent) in their international student enrollment this year and 45 per cent of them feel it is the same as last year.

Thirtyfive per cent of pupils prefer their parents as a key source for college selection, followed by internet at 33 per cent. 46 per cent of educators feel that students and parents are very stressed about career-related decisions.

Talking about the opportunity gap, Ganesh Kohli, IC3 Conference chair-president and chief mentor, KIC UnivAssist and Former High School College Counselor said: “As the survey insights state, Indian students have not been able to gain preference in comparison to the overseas students due to lack of exposure and right counselling at the right age. We need to step up the counselling practices in India to help them gain the desired position in the international markets.”

Even today, students prefer opting for traditional courses as the career and college counseling practices in India are still not at par with the international standards. This is majorly due to lack of awareness and opportunities that the vocational courses offer in comparison to conventional following.

Forty per cent students say that they prefer safer subject options such as Science, Technology, Engineering and Math followed by 22 per cent opting Art, Entertainment and Sports, 18 per cent choosing Business and Finance and 17 per cent for Health and Medicine.

The global political issues and complexities don’t seem to stop the aspirations of the students, as per the survey insights. The student enrollment has gone up in the international markets with 45 per cent of students preferring US as their study-abroad destination, followed by 14 per cent Canada, 13 per cent UK, 10 per cent Australia, 8 per cent South East Asia and 7 per cent Europe.

Shobha Mishra Ghosh, assistant secretary general from FICCI said: “In today’s digital world, transition of a student from college to career must be developed on the basis of individual interest. Industry today is looking at engaging with students through structured seminars and forums to equip them with a complete know-how of different career options.”