The usually impatient teenagers of Government Model SMV High School seemed to be in no hurry at all to finish off the career guidance classes. All merry and buoyant, they burst into popular film songs after Sirajuddin Paramabath, Centre for Information and Guidance (CIGI) State Coordinator, who belted them out as illustrations to the vital aspects of choosing one’s career.
On its inaugural day on January 24, Career Caravan, the interactive career guidance initiative of CIGI, had its first spate of activities at the SMV School ground where Electricity Minister Aryadan Mohammad inaugurated the programme. The programmes, organised in connection with the 15th anniversary of CIGI, started off with career orientation classes and an exhibition which was inaugurated by Shahsi Tharoor MP. “The children are first taken to see the exhibition which has posters explaining various career options, degree, masters and other professional courses available in India and the possibilities to study abroad. Then they sit through an hour-long interactive session with a CIGI volunteer where they are introduced to various aspects regarding the choice of career. They can also raise questions and clarify their doubts,” said Sirajuddin.
The caravan will travel to all the districts of the State, holding talks, interactions, and presentations at schools and public places. Six CIGI volunteers will travel with the caravan and take classes for school students. “The aim is to take the wealth of information regarding career options and professional courses that have come up in recent times to the rural areas of Kerala. The information does not always percolate to the marginalised sections of the population. The classes and other events organised as part of Career Caravan are provided free of cost,” he said.
CIGI had attempted a similar initiative in North Malabar, and toured the entire district holding classes and training for students at various places. The success of the trail run prompted the organisation to take it up on a mass scale, said Sirajuddin.
He added that the response on the part of students has been encouraging. “They raise a number of doubts and clearly appreciate the effort to provide them with the right information on higher studies and career,” he said.
When the last round of interaction was underway, the class X students of SMV School were seen enjoying a song and story session. The Caravan would proceed to the next district after a stopover at Poonthura Government School in the outskirts of the city.