CBSE mandates full-time wellness, career counsellors for every 500 students

New Delhi: In a move aimed at improving students’ psychological well-being, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has updated its counselling norms, making it compulsory for affiliated schools to strengthen their mental health support and career guidance mechanisms.

In a notification issued on Monday, the board directed all secondary and senior secondary schools to appoint wellness teachers, who will serve as socio-emotional counsellors, as well as career counsellors on a full-time basis.

Under the revised norms, schools are required to have one wellness teacher and one career counsellor for every 500 students enrolled in Classes IX to XII. As a result, a school with 1,500 students in these classes would need to engage at least three counsellors, TNIE reported.

However, the existing provision allowing schools with fewer than 300 students to appoint counsellors on a part-time basis will remain unchanged.

The CBSE has also stipulated that all counsellors must complete 50 hours of board-prescribed capacity-building programmes focused on psycho-social and career counselling, with the aim of ensuring uniform standards across schools. In addition, the board has made it mandatory for counsellors to possess academic qualifications in psychology, social work, school counselling or social-emotional learning.