The Counselling Officer is the nerve centres of the guidance programme—be it a university or a college.
He should be a guidance-minded person with at least a year’s full time course in Guidance and Counselling from a University. He should have a well-balanced lovable personality, a broad outlook, an understanding attitude, a genuine interest in helping students.
“The counsellor” in the words of Williamson, “should be’ clearly more than a competent technician; he should be viewed as a broadly informed and cultivated educator.”
Duties
1. Arrange orientation programmes for the teachers to enlist their cooperation.
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2. Arrange orientation programmes for fresher’s and also for those passing through the transitional period.
3. Prepare an up-to-date list of the resources—informational, referral and energy-available to him and the proper method for calling on each particular resource and classify and fill the information properly.
4. Organise the Guidance Committee.
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5. Set up an educational and occupational information centre.
6. Display the information collected in an attractive way.
7. Disseminate the information through educational and career talks, group discussions and film shows, etc.
8. Arrange talks by experts from different fields.
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9. Organise career days, career weeks, career conferences, parents’ days, etc.
10. Educate students regarding proper study habits and assist them in their development.
11. Introduce Cumulative Record cards and get them maintained with the cooperation of other members of the faculty and use these cards in guiding the students.
12. Arrange individual discussions with students and their parents for giving them educational and occupational information.
13. Arrange visits to places of work like industries, business establishments, offices, higher educational institutions etc.
14. Maintain an active relationship with schools, colleges, university and other regional, national and social agencies like Indian Council for Cultural Relations, United States Educational Foundation in India.
Principals of Colleges, Heads of Departments of the University, University Employment and Information and Guidance Bureau, Employment Exchanges, University Health Centres, Medical Research Institutions, etc.
15. Maintain an active liaison with clubs like Lions Club and Rotary Club.
16. Refer the serious mental cases to clinical psychologists, psychiatrists or university health centres where the services of the clinicians are available, as his training and education does not equip him to deal with such cases.
17. Maintain complete secrecy about the discussion between him and the client.
18. Administer psychological tests.
19. Provide counselling service to his students.
20. Help in the placement of students.
21. Take up research projects*relating to the field of educational, vocational and personal-social guidance in the colleges and universities and convey the findings to important relevant agencies.
22. Prepare guidance leaflets, brochures and monographs and get them printed for distribution to the students.
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To be effective, the counselling officer should have six major qualities—belief in each individual; respect for individual human values; alertness to the world; open-mindedness; understanding of self; and professional commitment.
The Liaison Officer:
In a small college, Liaison Officer—a part time guidance worker— can be appointed from the rank of teachers. Liaison officer, in single or groups as convenient to respective colleges, can take charge of the guidance programme in a college.
He should be a guidance- minded person with some specialised training in guidance at least for three months.
The liaison officer should discharge the same duties as that of the counselling officer given above except the last five.
The progress and efficiency of the guidance services in colleges will mainly depend on the ability, enthusiasm and dedication of liaison officers and the attitude of the administrators and teachers to them and to their work.
The job, even if part-time, is important and needs to be done in a serious way. Depending upon the number of students and the load of work, the time can be fixed for the liaison officer.