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EDUCATION MINISTER UNVEILS PUNJAB CAREER PORTAL AIMED AT PROFESSIONAL GUIDANCE 10 LAKH STUDENTS TO GET INFO ABOUT CAREER COUNSELING, COURSES AND SCHOLARSHIPS SITTING AT HOME: PARGAT SINGH

In a landmark initiative aimed at providing professional guidance to the students studying in schools and colleges of the State, Education and Higher Education Minister Pargat Singh today unveiled the Punjab Career Portal. In a function held at the Punjab Bhawan, the Minister said that the major reason behind the unemployment problem is the inability to choose right career. He also divulged that if the students are able to get adequate career guidance at an opportune time then they can work wonders in accordance with their capability.

Sharing a personal thought, he said that had he taken up some other sport instead of Hockey he would not have been able to perform so good.

Disclosing more, Pargat Singh said that the portal would play a very significant role in guiding the students about various online courses, scholarships and vocations as part of a series of measures being undertaken by the Education Department. He also said 10 Lakh students would now get while sitting at home the requisite info with regard to career counselling, courses and scholarship sectors.

The Secretary School Education Ajoy Sharma on the occasion said that via the portal the vital information about the qualifications and skills required for various professions, would be provided to the students. The portal is connected with the life of every student and would be helpful to him/her in achieving their life goals. Extensive publicity campaign to popularise the portal through social media would be carried out in order to ensure its reach down to each student and their parents. The DGSE Pradeep Kumar Agarwal while welcoming the guests described it as the novel initiative of the Education Department which would provide a common platform to redress the problems faced by the student community in deciding their career choices. In her speech, the Professional Guidance Expert from UNICEF INDIA Lalita Sachdeva said that the students be equipped with the information concerning the possibilities in the new trades emerging in the modern era. The portal would come in handy to ascertain the thoughts students harbour about their future.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Aasma Foundation Ayush Bansal shared valuable info about the mechanism, use and salient features of the portal which would also render great assistance in providing Information regarding a multitude of institutions to continue Higher Education. The CEO and MD of the Tata Power Limited Prabir Sinha said that in order to pursue these courses the students also require the social backup for which the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy of the different industrial sectors can be of immense help. The Advisor of the Punjab CSR Authority S.M. Goel mentioned that the authority is maintaining regular contact with the divergent allied institutions who are also coming out to extend help. He further added that the authority is fully committed to address their issues by making them conversant with every available bit of info through the portal and he wishes that maximum students derive benefit from the portal to reach the pinnacle of their professions. The DPI (Secondary Education) Sukhjit Pal Singh thanked all the eminent personalities taking part in the function. Among others present on the occasion the Deputy State Project Coordinator Manoj Kumar, Amardeep Singh Bathh and District Education Officers from various districts, School Heads, Teachers and Students via the online mode.