A REVIEW PAPER: IMPACT OF GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING TO

IMPROVE THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF SCHOOL AND

COLLEGE STUDENTS
1S.R. SHANKAR., M.E,LMISTE,MIE,CENG(I),FUACEE,LMIAENG(SAI,SEE,SIE,SOR,SSC,SWN),MAHS.,SMASR
PRINCIPAL, DPC,

Abstract:
The changing family structure and the evolving social trends with a breakdown in the
traditional support system has created a gap for fulfilling the physical , psychological and
social needs of the child stressing the need for an alternative support system to meet the needs
of the students and Rapid growth of population has led to inverse expansion of educational
institutions, i.e. disproportionate emphasis has been given to higher and technical education
rather than primary education. Surprisingly, policy-makers have gradually given less
importance to introduction of guidance and counseling, even though there is great concern
for improving the entire educational system and counseling requires a proper recognition and
all efforts need to be put together to utilize this very important psychological skill in preventing
and in responding to the various psychosocial needs of the students. Guidance is needed to
help the students for optimum achievement and adequate adjustment in the varied life
situations. Need analysis of the students in the s shows the need of Guidance and counseling
services , in the education, profession, vocation, social, health, moral, personal, and marital
areas.This is a descriptive paper, although the author seeks the explanation for the ambivalent
attitude to guidance and counseling in the social structure of India's complex society.
Keyword ;Counseling ,stress ,education,

described as "serious" more often by

Introduction:
Besides lack of parent involvement, the
problems viewed as serious by at least 10
percent of public teachers included student
apathy, poverty, student absenteeism, student
disrespect for teachers, parental alcoholism
and/or drug abuse, and student tardiness.
Behaviors and attitudes of students were
more likely to be seen as problematic by
teachers at the secondary level than by
teachers at the elementary level. Parent
alcoholism, on the other hand, was described
as "serious" as often by elementary teachers
as by secondary teachers and poverty was
elementary teachers.
Teachers were much less likely to report that
any of the above problems were "serious."
The percentage of private teachers rating
each problem as "serious" ranged from .1
percent for student possession of weapons to
4.3 percent for lack of parent involvement.
In and colleges, lots of attention is given to
theory and books and practical knowledge is
completely ignored. When these students
pass the exam, they forget all the things they
have studied due of lack of practical
experience. In India, parents and teachers
expect their students to score high in the
exam (rather than acquiring the quality
knowledge) and thus the education becomes
a rat race. Practical knowledge and skill
based education is still far away from the
reach of students studying in colleges and
universities.
Students are getting the knowledge from
outdated syllabus. Lots of technological and
scientific improvements are taking place in
India and therefore the courses are Graduate
and post graduates must be updated as per the
industrial and technological development.
Other problems are 1) Expenditure in our
universities are as high as 50%, 2) Many
schools and colleges use foreign languages as
the medium of instruction which hampers the
natural educational growth of millions of
students who are not at home in foreign
languages, 3) Too much importance to
examination, 4) Rapid increase of irrelevant
college and universities and 5) Absence of
library, laboratory and other facilities in
schools and colleges.
Ancient education in india:
India has explicitly recognized that the
supreme goal of life is self-realization and
hence the aim of education has always been
the attainment of such a fullness of being.
But at the same time it was also recognized
that different individuals have naturally
different inclinations and capacities. Hence
not only the highest philosophy but also
ordinary subjects like literature and science
as also vocational training find a place in
ancient education system. The education
system of ancient India may claim to be
unique in the world in many respects like-
 The State and the society did not in
any way interfered with the
curriculum of studies or regulating the
payment of fees or hours of
instructions.
 Another special characteristic of
ancient Indian educational system
was it was fully and compulsorily
residential. The student had to live in
the house of his teacher for the whole
duration of his studies and learn from
him not only what was taught but also
observe how his teacher responded to
different situation arising in daily life
and learn from it.
 Stress was laid on having a personal
relation between the teacher and the
taught. Each student used to meet the
teacher separately and learn from him
through separate instruction and
guidance.
 Education was absolute free and the
teacher looked after the primary needs
of the students including food and
clothing.
 The Indian system of education
upheld the dignity of labour. Hence
even a student aiming at the highest
philosophical knowledge was duty
bound to do some manual labour
daily such as collecting fuel, tending
cattle, etc.
 Education in ancient India was more
of seminar type where students used
to learn through discussions and
debates.
The aim of education were to provide good
training to young men and women in the
performance of their social, economic and
religious duties. Also preservation and
enrichment of culture, character and
personality development and cultivation of
noble ideals were the other aims of education
in ancient India.
Education in India :
1.Ancient Method:
In ancient India close relationship existed
between the pupil and the teacher. The
teacher used to pay individual attention on
his students and used to teach them according
to their aptitude and capability. Knowledge
was imparted orally and the different
methods of learning were-
 Memorization– The preliminary
stage of learning was learning by
heart the sacred text through
indefinite repletion and rehearsal by
both the teacher and the taught.
 Critical Analysis– This was another
method in which knowledge was
comprehended. It was through critical
analysis that Sri Ramanuja and Sri
Madhvacharya differed from their
teachers on the interpretation of the
Brahmasutra composed by Sri
Shankara and later came out with
their own interpretation of the
Brahmasutra. Madhvacharya even
made his teacher subscribe to his
view which shows that gurus were
open to new ideas and views
articulated by their students.
 Introspection– Sravana (listening),
Manana (contemplation) and
Nididhyasana (concentrated
contemplation) of the truth so as to
realize it was another method to study
Brahma Vidya (Vedanta).
 Story telling– The teacher used
stories and parables to explain. This
was the method Buddha used to
explain his doctrines.
 Question and Answer method– In
this method the pupils used to ask
questions and the teacher used to
discuss at length on the topics and
clear their doubts.
 Hands-on method– For professional
courses including medical science,
students/apprentices used to learn by
observation and through practical
method.
 Seminars– The students also gained
knowledge thought debates and
discussions which were held at
frequent intervals.
2.Today Modern Method :
 Commercialisation of education:
The general Indian mentality believes
that privatization is the solution to
everything dysfunctional in our
country. This public perception stems
from the status quo that an Indian
family enjoys when they send their
children to these ‘Modern temples of
education’ which have air conditioned
classrooms, buses and infrastructure
equivalent to a five star resort etc.It
gives immense pride to parents and an
opportunity for them to gloat about
the fact that their children go to
school where students are well
dressed, their classmates come from
the elite strata of the society
Education should not be a business
but it should be run like a business.
The responsibility falls on teachers to
churn the best out of the non
performing students and it is their
responsibility to raise a student’s
performance and to equate it with the
rest of the class if the student joined
 the school in the far end of the
academic year.
Most of all, VIP treatment and excessive
molly cuddling is expected from a teacher
which also includes malpractices like
promoting students even when they have
failed in major academic subjects to retain
admissions and prevent financial loss. This is
really detrimental to a teacher’s moral who
believes and practices idealism, honesty and
fair practice.
 Lack of motivation and support:
Teachers don’t have a voice and have
no say about educational policy. The
concept of motivated teacher is also a
flawed one because most of them feel
that a motivated teacher is one who is
regular to school every day, follows
official protocols blindly without
questioning and if necessary provide
information that management team
wants. The real focus shifts from
student learning outcomes to
complying orders as fount fit by the
administrative department relegating
teachers to a mere stature of puppets
who have no voice. Hence teachers
are not motivated because they are
not empowered and there is no
support for them. Professional
development and teacher’s needs
Education sector is a very dynamic
industry. A good teacher needs to be
constantly updated with the best
practices practiced across the world.
This means reevaluating and
reflecting one’s pedagogical skills by
adopting rigorous study, practice and
self – improvement.
 counseling and guidance services :
India is a sub-continent of great variety and
extremes, both geographically and socially.
Its population has crossed 700 million.
Fabulous riches and stark poverty co-exist;
brilliant academic minds and wide spread
illiteracy, superstition and ignorance are
prevalent. The task of independent India has
been to bridge these vast differences and
bring its people into the modern age.
Education has been one of the means to
achieve this goal.al
Findings
The big question in the minds of educators,
policy makers and parents is whether there is
a real need for counseling in Indians. Are we
just trying to ape the American mores and
norms? Given the vast differences in the
cultural and family structures of the Indian
society we need to assess whether there really
is room for a professional counselor. Also, it
is important to assess whether the Indian
society is ready to accept the services of a
counselor or is burdened with stigma towards
this service. ie. The first finding of the study
is that there is definitely a need for
counseling in study centers in India. ii. This
is evident with the increasing number of
suicide cases in the students. iii. Changing
family trends such as working mothers,
divorces, single parent families have reduced
the emotional cushioning provided so far by
most of the Indian families. iv. Also, the
immense technological advances, the
increased social life and issues such as drug
abuse have contributed to stress and strain on
the students. The student life is getting
complex day by day .
National commissions and counseling:
As early as 1948-49 the Radhakrishnan
University Education Commission realized
the need for providing student services in s
and colleges and made certain definite
recommendations. Similarly, the Kothari
Education Commission's
report in 1966 clearly stated that 'a major
weakness of the existing system of education
is the failure to provide adequately for
students welfare' ... 'A guidance and
counseling programme which would assist
students in the choice of
courses, indicate the lines of remedial action
and help in dealing with emotional and
psychological problems should be an integral
part of the educational facilities provided in
institutions of higher education.' The
Commission recommended one
counselor per thousand students.
why its need?
Need for counseling in Indian students,
guidance and counseling helps the students to
have a bettervself understanding and proper
adjustment to self and society. Developing of
proper motivation and clarification of goals
and ideas to pupils in conformity with their
basic potentialities and social tendencies are
important. Total development of the student
necessitates that individual differences
among them are expected, accepted,
understood, and planned for. And all types of
experiences in an institution are to be so
organized as to contribute to the total
development of the student.
To help in the proper choices of courses, To
help in the proper choice of careers, To help
the students in vocational development, To
develop readiness for choices and changes to
face new challenges, To minimize the
mismatching between education and
employment and help in the efficient ue of
manpower, To motivate the youth for self
employment, To help freshers establish
proper identity, Guidance and counseling
service is needed to help students deal
effectively with the ormal developmental
tasks of adolescence and face life situations
boldly, To identify and motivate the students
from weaker sections of society, To help the
students in their period of turmoil and
confusion, To help in checking wastage and
stagnation, To identify and help students in
need of special help. There are such students
as the gifted , the backward , the handicapped
who need special opportunities. They need
special attention and opportunities, To ensure
the proper utilization of time spent outside
the classrooms.
The manner in which students spend their
non-class hours clearly affects their success
in achieving both academic competence and
and personal development of al types.A
positive direction to students should be
provided by influencing how they can use
those non-class hours, To help in tackling
problems arising out of students population
explosion, To check migration to prevent
brain drain, To make up for the deficiencies
of home, To minimize the incidence of
indiscipline. Majority of the students lack a
sense of direction, a sense of purpose and a
sense of fulfillment. And indulge in
destructive activities, which lead to social
damage and loss. Adequate guidance and
counseling facilities is the only answer to
help and guide the youth to worthwhile
channels and help them realize the goals of
optimum academic, personal and social
development.
Contemporary society needs and trends
Problems and needs in society are nothing
new , but today they seem to be proliferating
at an unprecedented rate. The unique
problems in the changing famly, cities in
upheaval, conflicts in values, attitudes, and
moral, the new cynicism about politics,
economic factors, the changing role of work ,
new pressure and demands on , and problems
of the youth, all points out the need for the
counseling services Guidance and counseling
have a challenging role to play in every
developing economy, much more so if it is a
labour surplus one.
Types of counseling needs:
The educational field is a vast area with huge
potential for counseling. The needs of the
students are varied. There is an imminent
need for counseling in the following areas:
Academic success: i. The counselors can
help the students in realizing their highest
potential. ii. They can help in removing
blocks to academic success, if any.
Career and vocational guidance:
i. counselors can help by providing
information on the various career and
vocational options available. ii. counselors
can guide the students in choosing the right
career based on suitable aptitude tests.
Personal and Social development: i. The
counselor helps to identify talents of the
students and helps to nurture these talents. ii.
The counselor helps in improving the
communication and interpersonal skills of the
students.
Resolving psychosocial problems: i. Stress,
loneliness, bullying, ragging peer
adjustments, parental and teacher pressure
are some of the possible psychosocial
problems of students which can be resolved
by a counselor. ii. In extreme cases, the
counselor may refer the students to a
psychologist, psychiatrist or other specialized
personnel.
Counseling for the parents: A very
important revelation is that the parents also
need to be counseled. The student counselor
may provide counseling to the parents on the
following issues: i. The necessity to accept
the child as he is with his strengths and
weaknesses. ii. The ill effects of undue
pressure and stress on the child to excel
academically. iii. The interests and aptitude
of the child and his suitability and choice of
career. iv. Learning disabilities of the child, if
any and the coping strategies. v. The
psychosocial problems of the child, if any
and the coping strategies. vi. Removing the
stigma attached to counseling.
Counseling for the teachers and the staff:
The teachers and the staff also need
counseling to deal effectively with the huge
number of students coming from diverse
backgrounds and holding unique
individualities. The counselor should focus
on the following issues: i. An understanding
of the futility of the Corporal Punishment. ii.
Understanding that each child is unique and
accepting every student as he is. iii.
Identifying learning disabilities of the
students. iv. Identifying psychosocial /
adjustment problems of
the child. v. Ways to bring the best out of
each student. vi. Overall development of the
students.
The Preventive, Remedial and
Developmental functions of counseling: A
counselor helps in early identification of
problem behaviors and takes suitable steps to
prevent the onset of psychosocial problems. i.
In case of psychosocial problems detected
after their onset, the counselor works towards
finding suitable remedies. ii. The counselor
also engages in individual and group
developmental activities.
Conclusion:
The emerging needs of the student
community with globalization, drastic
changes in family structures, changing social
values leading to immense stress and strain .
Counseling provides a safe space to learn
more about overcoming these habits by using
strategies that have been shown to help others
in similar situations. Seeking help from
professional experienced helpers may feel as
helping our selves, by taking steps to
improve life and influence life situation one
can create many differences. Counseling can
help one learn more about own self by
helping and understanding his own strengths
and learning how to use those strengths to
grow in other areas. Counseling can helps in
setting goals for college life and future
career. It can help in understanding strengths
and areas of growth as a student. It can also
help that how stress and emotional
difficulties may interfere with one’s abilities
to focus on studies and help in developing
better way to cope with that problem.
References:
 Emerging area of counseling in
schools in India vol. 3(3), 44-47,
march (2014)
 Counseling services in Indian
educational institutions:
 Needs and challenges* international
journal for the Advancement of
Counseling 9:197-203 (1986).
 student counseling: adding value to
educational institution Online at
https://mpra.ub.unimuenchen.de/5385
4/ MPRA Paper No. 53854, posted 26
February 2014 .
 From Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia
 http://saypeople.com/2012/04/30/prob
lems-faced-by-students-in-current-
educational-setup-their-possible-
solutions/
 http://www.careerizma.com/blog/indi
an-teachers-problems/
 https://www.dishapublication.com/blo
g/problems-and-challenges-faced-by-
indian-education-system/
 https://nces.ed.gov/pubs93/web/9314
9.asp
BIOGRAPHIES:
 S.R. SHANKAR obtained B.E.
degree in Electrical and Electronics
Engineering from Madurai Kamaraj
University. obtained M.E in Power
System Engineering in Thiagarajar
College of Engineering, Madurai. I
have 6 ½ yeas industrial experience,
after that I worked in various
engineering colleges and polytechnics
I involved in many consultancies
works in the industries across
Madurai. my research areas include
Voltage stability of power systems. I
have published many papers in the
International journals, International &
National conferences. Also, I got
membership from ISTE, IE,
,UACEE,IAENG,HAS , ASR and
Charter Engineer (I) & ‘C’ license
holder (super visor competency
licence got from tamil nadu electricity
board)