HYDERABAD: AIDING students in choosing a career that suits both their aptitude and interests, the State government has introduced a psychometric test on a pilot basis in 194 Model Schools. The 45-minute-long test is administered to identify 12 personality traits among students, on the basis of which they are counselled. They will be provided guidance on the streams and courses that they can opt for higher studies.
The self-assessment tool My Choice, My Future (MCMF) focuses on three basic premises — what a child is good at, what they are and what they love — and is designed with respect to the Indian context of education. It has been developed by an IIT-Madras incubated startup called BodhBridge and is expected to be scaled up to other government-run schools.
The MCMF assesses an individual on 12 personality traits, which are further classified into basic personality traits and career-oriented personality traits. The personality traits include reliability/responsibility, determination/focus, discipline and independence. The remaining eight personality traits, namely, risk-taking, adaptability/versatility, extrovert, creative/imaginative, compassion/generosity, communicative/expressive, analytical and hands-on, are termed as career-oriented personality traits. The respondents are asked to answer the questions on a five-point Likert scale ranging from ‘strongly disagree’ to ‘strongly agree’.
Speaking of the first-of-its-kind career guidance programme undertaken in government schools, A Satyanarayana, additional director, Telangana State Model Schools, said: “All students of Class 10 have taken the online test. While a personalised assessment is obtained soon after the test is submitted, a detailed analysis of the career choice for the student will be given in next few days, following which counselling for students will be conducted,” he said.
P Krathikumar, a teacher from Telangana State Model School, said that tests like these are essential in helping students understand and identify their personality traits and take up careers in congruence with their personality.