The Uttar Pradesh (UP) government has introduced a career guidance programme for students in government schools in collaboration with iDreamCareer (iDC), extending the services provided by the existing Pankh Portal. According to an official announcement, the Pankh Portal aims to utilize technology to provide career awareness to students in government and government-aided schools, while, the new initiative, launched on October 9th, focuses on delivering in-person counselling to students in five districts.
A dedicated team of 31 counsellors has been deployed in Varanasi, Meerut, Kanpur, Lucknow, and Ghaziabad to assist students in their career journeys. The project, aimed at 14,700 students in grades 10th and 12th across these five districts, aims to promote educational awareness, assist students in discovering potential colleges with scholarships, and educate them about various career options within the industry. The Michael and Susan Dell Foundation is providing support for this project.
Addressing the high dropout rate, especially among female students in UP, the intervention aims to increase the yearly Eligible Enrollment Rate (EER) by five per cent. The project’s strategy involves offering in-person counselling sessions, detailed information on career examination patterns and a helpline number to provide last-mile assistance until students secure admission to a college or vocational programme, as per the statement.
Through personalized one-on-one counselling, educational awareness initiatives and access to scholarships, the project seeks to enhance enrollment and pave the way for a brighter future for UP students. This collaborative effort is expected to foster an educational environment conducive to the development of tomorrow’s leaders.
iDreamCareer (iDC), started in 2012, works with high school and undergraduate college students through its full-stack career and college guidance product, which includes 1,000+ hours of content on careers, colleges, exams, scholarships, reliable and validated psychometric assessment tools, and personalized counselling. The platform claims to be India’s first multilingual career guidance platform, with five regional languages now available. Last year, the company received INR 12.5 crore in a funding round led by the Menterra Social Impact Fund.
