For the academic session 2025-26, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has launched two important initiatives. CBSE Career Guidance Dashboard and the CBSE Counseling Hub & Spoke School Model are the two new initiatives designed to guide students in making informed career choices while also ensuring their emotional well-being in schools.
Why Students Need Career and Counseling Support
In the current times, students face many challenges, be it academics, emotional well-being, balancing school and personal life, excelling in extracurricular activities, among others. Choosing the right career and facing emotional stress are two of the biggest challenges that are common to students of all backgrounds. Their parents are concerned about giving the right advice to the children, while teachers try to balance classroom learning with their real-life experiences. With the introduction of these two new CBSE initiatives, schools will now have structured systems that bring career counseling and mental health support together.
CBSE Career Guidance Dashboard for Students and Parents
The CBSE Career Guidance Dashboard is an online platform designed for students where they can explore different career options, skill pathways, and higher education opportunities based on their likes and preferences. Key features include:
- Career exploration tools across academic and vocational streams.
- Information on universities and colleges in India and abroad.
- Resources for teachers to guide students during school hours.
- Parent-friendly access to understand career trends and support children’s aspirations.
This is great for students as the career guidance dashboard provides information regarding different career options, the path to be taken for a specific career or the different options available for them with their choice of subjects. For parents, it builds confidence in helping their child make career-related decisions.
CBSE Counseling Hub & Spoke Model for Mental Health in Schools
The second initiative, the Counseling Hub & Spoke School Model, focuses on student mental health and psychosocial support. Under this system, hub schools with trained counselors and wellness professionals will mentor and support spoke schools in their region. This model will:
- Train teachers, counselors, and wellness staff to handle student concerns.
- Offer a structured way to provide emotional support.
- Ensure both urban and rural schools have access to quality counseling.
These CBSE initiatives will benefit teachers, students and parents. Teachers will get help in identifying students who need help in academics or otherwise. Students will have a safe space where they can share the challenges they face and the difficulties. The parents will be relieved to find that schools are concerned about the well-being of their children and prioritising it as well.
Alignment with NEP 2020
The NEP 2020 emphasises holistic student development and future readiness, and these initiatives align closely with it. These initiatives reflect the policy’s focus on:
- technology-driven learning and guidance
- equal access to career and mental health support across all schools
- developing life skills, not just academic success
What Schools Can Expect in 2025-26
CBSE has already started working on implementing these initiatives in schools. They have started by conducting orientation sessions for principals, teachers, and counselors. Eventually, schools will also receive clear guidelines on responsibilities and monitoring of these initiatives. Importantly, CBSE has assured that feedback from the different schools and parents will continue to shape these initiatives.
The launch of the CBSE Career Guidance Dashboard and the Counseling Hub & Spoke Model shows a clear shift in how education supports learners. Education today goes beyond exams; it prepares students for life, careers, and emotional well-being.
As these reforms roll out in 2025-26, schools across India will move a step closer to creating future-ready, confident, and emotionally balanced learners.