Only 10% of Indian students receive career guidance: Experts Warn AI Can’t Replace Human Career Counsellors

 

 

New Delhi : The lack of professional career guidance is now a crisis in India rather than just a concern. A shocking United Nations (UN) study has determined that one in 10 students has access to some type of expert career counselling. For the other 9 out of 10 students, life-changing decisions are made based on advice or wisdom from cousins, uncles, family friends, or the current trends, even if they don't match the student's own abilities or needs. The outcome of this situation is misalignment in the career paths chosen by these students, lost potential, and general job dissatisfaction.

 

This situation is in private as well as government schools. In one of the world's largest education systems and the largest youth population, career counselling is still not often considered. Students have to navigate the ambiguous space for pursuing post-secondary education and/or employment without any organised pathway for career guidance, which puts them in a vulnerable position where they may make poor choices that are likely to impact them for decades to come.

 

The survey, which was sponsored by the UN, included students from 21,239 students from the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grades in 14 districts in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Gujarat, Punjab, Karnataka, and Rajasthan. The final results of the survey were alarming:

41% of private school students and 35% of government school students said that they were unsure about their choice for a course of study.

 

Only 22% of students had a fallback career plan, slightly more in the private versus the public school system (24% vs 20%).

10% of students knew the costs of courses after school.

38% were still uncertain about their education level aspirations.

A total of 81% of students reported barriers to decision-making, ranging from pressure from family to apprehension about future educational or career prospects.

 

Experts say these numbers reveal a pattern: careers chosen by accident, not design. “Without professional guidance, students chase secure employment or trendy professions instead of exploring what truly suits their aptitude,” says Ritika Gupta, CEO and Counsellor at AAera Consultants.

Himanshu Gupta, secretary of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), stressing the importance of early career planning, said, “Career plays a vital role in shaping a child’s future, and the process must begin early." Gupta said that to address the gap, it is working on qualification standards and training modules to prepare certified career counsellors, who will guide students in making informed choices aligned with their interests and skills.

 

Sanjeev Rai, an educationist, explained the roots of the problem to ETV Bharat, “The issue of students choosing the wrong career stems from India’s historically agriculture-based economy, where traditional norms dominated career choices. However, things are gradually changing. With social media and faster access to information, even students from small towns are exploring global hubs for innovation, jobs, and higher education.

 

Post-independence, most people aimed for government jobs or migrated to cities. Today, young Indians increasingly work in corporate, IT, and entrepreneurial environments. While traditional ‘safe’ careers like engineering, medicine, and civil services still dominate due to peer and parental influence, parents are beginning to realise that children need to make their own choices. Guidance is important, but forcing a child into a profession is counterproductive. We are slowly moving in the right direction.”

 

The shift Rai describes is gradual. Current surveys may not fully capture the change, but experts predict that in the next five to ten years, vocational education and the knowledge economy will gain prominence.

Awadhesh Kumar Jha, Principal of Sarvodaya Co-Ed Vidyalaya and a National Teachers’ awardee, told ETV Bharat, “Career counselling is not a luxury, it is a necessity. When the youth of a nation walks unguided, their potential is wasted. Education should not end with degrees; it must lead to direction. A single informed choice can save years of regret."

 

He concluded, "Skills and passion together create employability. Parents must see beyond ‘safe’ careers and trust new opportunities. Fields like AI, climate tech, and design are the future. Guidance must become a right, not a privilege. NEP 2020 is a vision, but it needs swift execution. If we guide our youth well today, India’s tomorrow will be unstoppable.”

 

Technology can help close the career counselling gap throughout India. AI-based career counselling platforms, mobile applications in native languages, and online mentorship networks can provide students, regardless of their location, with access to career counselling support. Cyber experts do advise, as students turn to career tools powered by AI, that this is not a panacea.

 

A cybersecurity expert, Anuj Agarwal, cautions, "Those algorithms generated by institutions that profit and don't care discuss student welfare will direct students to courses or to institutions that are not commensurate with their abilities."

 

A similar warning is made by Karnika A. Seth, cyber law guru, who implores human intervention, "Some companies provide online assessments that check for aptitude, but parents always need to leave the final decision to the child: that is one obligation India has with the Convention on the Rights of the Child."

 

Sakshar Duggal adds, “AI can democratize career awareness, but relying on it exclusively is risky. Algorithms may reduce life-defining choices to trends and data patterns, overlooking individuality. The best model is a hybrid: use AI as a compass that helps the user push the boundaries of their options, and human counsellors serve as captains who provide context, empathy and mentorship.”

 

Amit Dubey, another cybersecurity professional, adds, "Students need to combine the insights from AI with self-reflection, mentorship and other curated information. Algorithms can suggest trends, but your future cannot be coded.

Blind dependence on AI is akin to following a map without knowing the destination."

Even with advancements in technology, practitioners insist that human support is still needed. The end goal is to achieve a quantified balanced outcome, which is the purpose of AI, widening potential options, with a human supervisor contextualizing those options for the individual student.

 

The Indian Educational System generates millions of graduates every year, and for the majority of students, career counselling is not available. The typical student asks a relative or neighbour for direction, whose career options may have some meaning, but are now irrelevant in their local context. According to Ritika Gupta, CEO & Counsellor, AAera Consultants, "Millions of unfulfilled potential are buried in students pushed into "comfortably" the route or path that was not chosen based on their interest or skill set."

 

The Gallup 2024 State of the Global Workplace report shows the consequences of this: only 14% of Indian employees believe they are "thriving," compared to the global average of 34%. The significant difference has more to do with a career path choice, not using talent as opposed to being limited by 'natural talent.'

The India Skills Report and NASSCOM surveys found that almost 50% of graduates are found unemployable by industry standards, and engineering graduates do the worst, with only 20-25% deemed job-ready. This lack of employability begins before people even get to the recruiting stages of a job search: it begins when students choose courses they do not understand or enjoy, and that are in misalignment with their gifts or skills.

 

Despite India’s higher education enrolment surpassing 28%, clarity is in short supply:

Only 10% of students know the course costs.

ight in ten struggle to make informed choices about institutions, courses, and career paths.

Consequently, workplaces are filled with employees who experience burnout, low productivity, and the persistent feeling of being “stuck.” Career counselling remains nearly absent in most government schools and is treated as a luxury even in private institutions.

 

Yasir Ali, director and career counsellor at YAC Edtech, explains, “Without structured guidance, students choose what is familiar, not what fits their aptitude or personality. When the job of guiding students falls on overburdened teachers, it becomes ritualistic rather than effective.”

 

Compounding the issue is India’s cultural obsession with “safe” professions. Engineering, medicine, and civil services continue to dominate, while careers in AI, renewable energy, design, and climate technology rarely enter household conversations.

 

Gaurav Tyagi, a medical counsellor at Career Xpert, says, “Career counselling helps students appreciate their aptitudes, explore new avenues, and make informed decisions instead of falling into the trap of conventional ‘safe’ jobs.”

 

Interestingly, there is greater career uncertainty in private schools as compared to government schools, even though they have greater access to resources. According to the United Nations study, 41% of students in private schools had ‘not decided’ on their course of action after school, while 35% of students in government schools had the same response.

 

Experts propose that with increased access to global information systems, peer pressure from other students and social media trends, students in private schools are inclined to be overwhelmed by the choices available to them, leading to indecision, not clarity.

 

In many developed countries such as Australia, Canada and the UK, career counselling is a critical infrastructure of the education system where students can take aptitude tests, attend specific career fairs, or learn through structured academic advising prior to enrolling in a university.

 

In looking at India, students have to rely on chance, neighbourhood wisdom or pressure from parents to determine their future. Surveys of young people confirm a link between ineffective career counselling and mental health problems in adolescents, such as stress and burnout