With only around 375 counsellors available across Maharashtra’s state board schools, education leaders are calling for urgent improvements to the school counselling system. According to UDISE+ (Unified District Information System for Education), state board schools enrolled approximately 22.6 million students in the 2021-22 academic year—resulting in just one counsellor per 60,000 students.
A document obtained by the Free Press Journal reveals that the State Council of Educational Research and Training last updated its counsellor list in 2022, with 409 names. However, as Jaywant Murlidhar Kulkarni, a counsellor from the Mumbai division, pointed out, several have since retired or moved to other positions leaving only 375 counsellors currently available.
“Training for new counsellors that can deliver session s offline has stopped. Only online training has been conducted since Covid, but even that has ceased since last year,” Kulkarni said. He noted that these counsellors received just 10 hours of online training annually and were restricted to only delivering online sessions. “You cannot build a trusting environment online where students feel safe to share their problems,” he added, stressing the need for a more comprehensive support system that also includes greater awareness of available resources. According to him the board has issued just one newspaper advertisement, “how much awareness will that create? Schools must display a list of all counsellors’ and their contact details prominently on noticeboards,” he said.
Mahendra Ganpule, former president of the Maharashtra Headmasters’ Association, echoed this concern, pointing out that many students are unaware of the counselling services available to them.
Even in CBSE schools, where having a counsellor is mandatory, many institutions appoint psychology teachers to fulfil this role rather than employing dedicated professionals. Ganpule further highlighted that not all international boards have a robust counselling system or full-time counsellors in place.
Ganesh Kohli, founder of the IC3 Movement, referenced an August 2023 report which found that student suicides in India have risen at an alarming rate, outpacing both population growth and general suicide trends. “Student suicides are now the leading cause of death among adolescents in India,” Kohli said. “This crisis demands immediate attention. Instead of pushing students into relentless competition, we must support their overall well-being. A key step is ensuring every school has a well-established counselling system integrated into daily life.”
Experts argue that a collaborative approach is necessary to create a supportive environment, with training programmes to help educators identify and intervene in cases of distress.
Psychiatrist Dayal Mirchandani cited academic pressure, societal expectations, bullying, and a lack of support mechanisms as key drivers of student suicides. “The primary issue is competition. The expectation is no longer just to pass—it is to come first,” he remarked.
A Mumbai parent noted the increasing influence of social media, observing how it fosters unrealistic comparisons and lowers self-esteem among children.
As concerns mount, education leaders stress the urgent need for a structured and well-resourced counselling framework to safeguard students’ mental health and well-being.
