Gujarat government discontinues ‘Career Corner’ guidance programme in schools and colleges

The Gujarat government’s Labour and Employment Department has decided to discontinue the long-running ‘Career Corner’ programme, which has guided school and college students about career options after their studies.

The decision was taken after the government found limited relevance of classroom-based career guidance in the current digital era, where students increasingly rely on online resources for information and counselling.

Until recently, around 1,075 schools and 295 colleges across Gujarat operated these ‘Career Corner’ sessions, where teachers conducted weekly classes to introduce students to different career paths.

Following the decision, the department has issued circulars to all district employment offices instructing them to close the programme and submit final reports. The city and rural DEOs were ordered to prepare a list of schools where the activity was functional. The department further clarified that pending payments for the 2025–26 academic year will be cleared.

Under the programme, teachers received ₹25 per session for conducting career guidance classes. However, the modest remuneration — amounting to barely ₹800 annually — coupled with paperwork and approval requirements it came with, had led to poor participation in several schools.

Initially, nearly 2,000 ‘Career Corner’ units operated statewide, later reduced to around 1,400. The programme’s discontinuation has drawn criticism from the opposition.