The Need for Comprehensive Counselling Services in Institutes of Higher Education in India

Abstract

Adolescence is a period of quarter-life transition and college becomes the courtyard for this development. Adolescents, especially college students come to limelight for involving in various antisocial activities, campus violence, ragging incidents, eve-teasing, suicides, and multifarious relationships much more than productive academic pursuits. This has become a great concern for higher education institutions in India. Various government and nongovernment bodies have raised alarm over these untoward adolescent and campus related issues and, highly recommend counselling services in the campuses. However, no comprehensive counselling or guidance program has been drafted by the governing bodies to assist the students or manage adolescences for betterment. Although India has the ancient gurukula tradition which paved the way for a holistic and integral development through education, counselling and wellbeing services have not taken deep roots today in the educational system. This empirical study proposes a comprehensive counselling service for the institutes of higher education by studying the major problems of college students in Tamil Nadu.