SCERT signs MoU with St. Joseph University on school counselling

DIMAPUR — The State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), Nagaland, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with St. Joseph University, Chümoukedima, for collaboration on school counselling at SCERT, Kohima, on Monday.

According to a DIPR report, the director of SCERT, Kevirale-ü Kerhuo, said on the occasion that, for the first time in 2018, a diploma course on school counselling was introduced. With this introduction, she said, SCERT Nagaland became the first SCERT in India to introduce a diploma in school counselling.

The course duration was later increased from six to nine months before being further extended through state cabinet approval in 2023 to one year.

Kerhuo said that the primary objective of the course is to train teachers and provide professionally trained school counsellors to ensure that there are at least one male and one female trained school counsellor available in every government school in Nagaland.

She added that, with the extension of the diploma course duration, SCERT is in the process of reviewing the existing curriculum and developing a new syllabus. The SCERT Nagaland is attempting to integrate Naga indigenous methods and techniques for dealing with the modern world’s complexities, stress, and anxieties. 

She also emphasised the importance of making counselling an integral part of the school curriculum, which will aid every student’s development and academic performance. Kerhuo said that the SCERT School Counselling Cell has already trained 105 teachers as school counsellors and that they will be launching a new batch in the coming days to help provide more trained counsellors to government schools. 

The director thanked St. Joseph University for their efforts and hoped that the MoU would aid in the professionalisation of school counselling in the state and enable it to provide better training quality through collaboration with the university.

Dr. D Gnanadurai, vice chancellor of St. Joseph University, emphasised the importance of school counselling in addressing students’ social, emotional, and academic needs, resulting in a holistic approach to overall student success. 

According to him, counsellors provide mental health support to students by promoting healthy social, emotional, and psychological development and assisting them in developing positive relationships, developing coping mechanisms, and managing their emotions. He also stated that counsellors assist students in discovering their talents, strengths, and interests, as well as guiding them through the process of career exploration and development. 

Dr. Watinaro Longkumer, HoD, department of Psychology, called the collaboration between the department and the university a positive step towards strengthening the two institutions through knowledge and information exchange.  

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