From Kupwara to Qazigund, students chase a few “secure” options while a world of opportunities passes them by. It is time to make career counselling a core part of education in the Valley
DR JAVID QADRI
In recent years, the Kashmir Valley has witnessed a powerful transformation. Internet connectivity, expansion of higher education, competitive examinations, and exposure to global trends have opened doors that were unimaginable a generation ago. Yet, when one sits with students in a classroom in Kupwara, a coaching centre in Srinagar, or a higher secondary school in Shopian, the answers to a simple question, “What do you want to do in life?” remain painfully predictable: “Doctor, engineer, government job.”
This narrow band of aspiration is not because our youth lack talent, curiosity, or ambition. On the contrary, Kashmiri students consistently prove their mettle in national examinations, civil services, entrepreneurship, arts, and sports. The real gap lies elsewhere: in the absence of structured, accessible, and professional career counselling that can help young people understand who they are, what the world offers, and how to bridge the gap between the two.
Today, the debate on education in the Valley largely revolves around infrastructure, syllabus, examinations, and results. Career guidance is treated as a luxury, often outsourced to a single annual “career counselling session” or a glossy brochure. But if we are honest, the stakes are too high for such tokenism. In a region where unemployment remains a burning concern and where decades of conflict have constrained economic options, informed career choices are not merely a personal matter—they are a social, psychological, and economic necessity.
A culture of confusion masked as ambition
From Class 8 onward, Kashmiri children are pushed into a race that is often poorly defined. The metrics of success are largely confined to marks in Board exams, a rank in NEET or JEE, or the secure comfort of a government post. Parents, driven by genuine concern and lived insecurity, equate stability with respectability. Teachers, overburdened and under-trained in career guidance, repeat the same formula that worked for the few. The child, caught between expectations and limited information, mistakes this tunnel vision for ambition.
On paper, we speak of a “knowledge economy”, “21st century skills”, and “global opportunities”. In practice, most students are unaware of thriving fields like data science, animation and design, clinical psychology, international relations, sustainable agriculture, sports management, social entrepreneurship, or even the diverse and growing avenues within vocational trades. When students do hear of these options, it is often through social media fragments—not through structured counselling that can match opportunity with aptitude.
The result is a generation that is over-coached but under-guided. They may know how to crack multiple-choice questions, but not how to make life choices. This confusion manifests as anxiety, depression, frequent course switching, and a growing sense of failure among those who do not “make it” to the handful of socially approved careers.
Structural barriers to informed choices
To understand the urgency of career counselling in the Kashmir Valley, we must look at the structural realities that shape decisions:
- Information gap between urban and rural:A student in Srinagar might still have access to seminars, coaching centres, and internet-based resources. But for a child in Kulgam, Kupwara, or Bandipora, even basic exposure to career options is limited. School libraries are often thin, and counsellors are almost non-existent at the secondary level.
- Economic constraints:Many families in the Valley simply cannot afford to send their children outside for expensive coaching or higher education. Without timely counselling, they either give up on higher aspirations or invest scarce resources in courses that do not match the child’s interest or aptitude.
- Social pressure and prestige:The social prestige attached to medicine, engineering, and government jobs is immense. Children who wish to pursue arts, humanities, sports, or vocational trades often face subtle ridicule or outright resistance. In such an environment, authentic self-discovery is a courageous act—and career counselling can be that safe space where a student’s aspirations are validated and refined.
- Lack of trained professionals:Career guidance is frequently handled by well-meaning teachers, coaching centre owners, or relatives who themselves have had limited exposure. Professional counsellors trained in psychometric assessment, labour market trends, and educational pathways are rare and mostly concentrated in a few urban pockets.
Beyond one-off sessions: Rethinking counselling as a system
It is tempting to think that inviting an expert to address students once a year will “solve” the counselling problem. But effective career guidance is a process, not an event. It must be woven into the schooling system from middle school onward, evolving as students grow.
A meaningful model for the Valley would include:
- Early exposure from Class 8–10:At this stage, the aim should be to broaden horizons rather than force decisions. Interactive sessions, career fairs, exposure visits, and talks by professionals from diverse fields can help students see that there are many ways to live a meaningful life.
- Structured assessment in Classes 10–12:Psychometric tests, aptitude assessments, and interest inventories, administered by trained counsellors, can help students understand their strengths and preferences. These tools, combined with one-on-one counselling, can prevent the mismatch between a student’s profile and their chosen stream or course.
- Parental engagement:In our context, counselling that ignores parents is incomplete. Workshops for parents, especially in government schools and rural areas, are essential to address fears, correct misconceptions, and highlight success stories from non-traditional fields.
- Integration with local realities:Career counselling in Kashmir cannot simply copy models from metropolitan cities. It must account for local economic opportunities, such as horticulture, tourism, handicrafts, IT services, sustainable development, education, and healthcare, as well as emerging sectors that can be realistically accessed by our youth.
- Continuous support, not one-time advice:The transition from school to college, and from college to work, are both critical stages. Counselling cells at colleges and universities in the Valley must be strengthened, staffed, and actively used—not just exist on paper.
The psychological dimension: Healing through guidance
Career counselling, when done well, does not simply say, “Do this course, get that job.” It helps a young person answer deeper questions: What kind of life do I want? What values matter to me? What am I good at? How can I contribute to my family and society? This clarity can reduce anxiety, build resilience, and offer a sense of purpose that goes beyond marks and money.
Moreover, the Valley has seen a worrying rise in mental health concerns among students, ranging from examination stress to clinical depression. Schools and colleges that invest in professional counsellors, who can handle both academic and emotional concerns, will not only produce better professionals but also healthier human beings.
Technology as an enabler, not a substitute
With the spread of smartphones and internet access, a new ecosystem of online career guidance platforms, webinars, and mentorship networks has emerged. For Kashmiri students, especially those in far-flung areas, these platforms can be a lifeline. They can connect with mentors across India and the world, access information on scholarships, watch career talks, and participate in virtual counselling sessions.
However, technology is not a magic wand. Without local facilitation—teachers who guide students to the right resources, community centres that host webinars, NGOs that curate content in Urdu or Kashmiri—online opportunities can easily be lost in the noise of social media. The challenge is to blend digital possibilities with on-ground support.
Role of the state, schools, and civil society
Improving career counselling in the Valley cannot be left to individual effort alone. It demands coordinated action. The School Education Department and Higher Education institutions must treat career guidance as a core service, not an add-on. This means allocating budgets for counsellor posts, training programmes, and resource centres in every district. Collaboration with national bodies and universities can help develop context-specific modules for Kashmiri students.
Educational institutions—government and private alike—need to go beyond boasting about “toppers” and “selections”. They should create active counselling cells, host regular interactions with professionals, track the progress of alumni in diverse fields, and open their doors to NGOs working in guidance and skill development.
Kashmir University, cluster universities, and professional institutes can play a pivotal role by setting up robust career and placement cells, organising job fairs, internship drives, and soft skills training. This not only benefits their students but can also create role models who inspire schoolchildren.
Local NGOs, youth clubs, and media houses can amplify positive stories of Kashmiri youth succeeding in varied fields—journalism, research, sports, arts, entrepreneurship, and technology. Newspapers, including this one, can run regular columns on career trends, scholarship opportunities, and guidance for parents.
The Kashmiri diaspora and local business community can mentor students, offer internships, and support scholarship funds. A structured mentorship network connecting professionals with students across districts could become one of the Valley’s greatest assets.
From survival to self-actualisation
For too long, the conversation around careers in Kashmir has been framed in terms of survival: How can my child get a secure job? How can we escape uncertainty? These are understandable questions, given our history and present challenges. But if we want to truly transform the Valley—economically, socially, and intellectually—we must dare to ask a bigger question: How can our youth realise their full potential?
Career counselling is not a Western import or an urban gimmick. It is a basic educational right in a complex world. It tells a young girl in Pulwama that she can be a scientist without abandoning her roots. It shows a boy in Baramulla that his love for computers can translate into a career in cybersecurity or software development. It reassures a student in Anantnag, who did not crack NEET, that his life is not over—that there are a hundred other paths worth walking.
The greatest injustice we can do to our children is to leave their future to chance, hearsay, and social pressure. Structured, empathetic, and professional career counselling is not a luxury we can postpone. It is an urgent investment, one that can turn our demographic challenge into a demographic dividend.
The time has come for policymakers, educators, parents, and the youth themselves to recognise this. A society that guides its young with wisdom and care does more than produce successful professionals; it nurtures confident citizens who can imagine and build a better tomorrow.
In Kashmir, that tomorrow is not a distant dream. It begins with a conversation in a classroom, a counselling session in a school, a guidance camp in a village. It begins the moment we decide that every child in this Valley deserves not just an education, but a direction.
( The author is a retired lecturer, educationist and columnist)