Realising the increasing role of counsellors to guide school students with diligence during tough times, NCERT has decided to change the format of its diploma programme in counselling from next session and raise the seat strength to make it accessible to more aspirants.
The redesigned programme called International Diploma Course in Guidance and Counselling will now be available through both distance/online as well as face to face modes.
"Earlier the course was offered through regular classes only but from now on it would be offered through distance mode also," said sources in NCERT.
"The programme will also be extended to the five Regional Institute of Education (RIEs), situated in Ajmer, Bhubaneswar, Bhopal, Mysore and Shillong, instead of only in Delhi," sources added. Each centre will have 50 seats each.
So far, the programme was only being imparted in Department of Educational Psychology and Foundations here in the capital.
The repackaged course, developed in collaboration with Commonwealth of Learning, Canada, will comprise three phases.
The first six months would be devoted to guided self learning through distance and online mode, the next three months to intensive face to face training and the remaining period will be focused on internship.
Classes of the one year programme will start from January next year.
The course is open for in-service teachers, untrained guidance personnel with a teaching degree and post graduates in psychology, child development and human resource development among others.
