CBSE Rolls Out Two Groundbreaking Career Support Initiatives for Students in 2025-26

In a strong push towards nurturing student success beyond the classroom, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has introduced two major student-centric initiatives for the academic year 2025-26. With the launch of the Career Guidance Dashboard and the Counseling Hub and Spoke Model, CBSE aims to significantly upgrade how career guidance and emotional wellbeing are addressed in schools. These programs are crafted not only to support students in making informed career choices but also to strengthen their overall mental and emotional wellness — vital pillars for academic and personal growth.

Both initiatives were unveiled during an orientation-cum-interaction session that brought together educators, principals, and mental health professionals from across the country. At the heart of this launch lies CBSE’s vision to build a future-ready ecosystem of guidance and support across all its affiliated institutions.

Flagship Programs to Reinforce Career and Emotional Support

CBSE Chairman Rahul Singh shared during the session that the initiatives are a step forward in enriching institutional career support frameworks. He emphasized that the programs have been designed to serve both schools and students and will be refined over time through ongoing contributions from teachers, counselors, and other stakeholders.

A group of expert panelists at the event took attendees through a detailed presentation of the Career Guidance Dashboard, outlining how the platform works, its intuitive interface, and its range of powerful tools created for students, educators, and school heads.

Simultaneously, the Counseling Hub and Spoke Model was thoroughly explained, covering its structure, implementation framework, and how school-level responsibilities will be handled and monitored for effectiveness.

The newly introduced Career Guidance Dashboard has been designed to be a one-stop solution for career exploration, planning, and guidance. Some of its standout features include:

Professionally curated career information, aligned with both national and international opportunities.

Tools for personalized exploration, helping students match their interests and strengths with potential career paths.

Seamless access to resources, including planning guides, digital tools, and self-assessment frameworks, all available to students, teachers, and school leaders.

As per inputs from experts during the event, the dashboard is not just user-friendly but also highly adaptable — making it a powerful tool for schools to integrate career readiness into their existing academic ecosystem.

Understanding the Counseling Hub and Spoke Model

On the wellbeing front, CBSE has laid out a comprehensive framework with its Counseling Hub and Spoke Model. This initiative is focused on building a structured, scalable support system within schools to address the emotional, social, and psychological needs of students — alongside their academic and career development.

The model emphasizes clear school-level roles and responsibilities, monitoring mechanisms, and continuous engagement to ensure that students have access to mental health support when they need it the most.

Next Steps: Strengthening the Ecosystem

To further elevate the impact of these flagship programs, CBSE is considering the integration of the following supportive elements:

Interactive Tools & AI Integration: Including AI-powered career assessments, virtual internships, and webinars with industry leaders to expose students to real-world career experiences.

Tailored Counseling Services: Using data from the dashboard to deliver personalized guidance sessions based on each student’s unique profile.

Skill-Building Workshops: Hosting hands-on sessions focusing on communication, digital literacy, creativity, and problem-solving — essential 21st-century skills.

Training for Parents & Teachers: Empowering adults in students’ lives with the tools they need to offer informed emotional and career support.

Alumni Mentorship Networks: Creating formal avenues for current students to connect with alumni who can offer advice on academic and career decisions.

Expanded Mental Health Support: Enhancing school-level psychosocial care through awareness drives, peer support groups, and professional counselors.

Smart Dashboards & Predictive Tools: Utilizing analytics to suggest learning paths and monitor student development over time.

Feedback Channels: Establishing structured feedback loops to continually adapt and improve these initiatives based on user input.

With the launch of these initiatives, CBSE is placing a strong emphasis on making its students future-ready not just academically, but also emotionally and professionally. The board is confident that through collaborative efforts with educators, counselors, students, and families, these programs will evolve into pillars of support for millions across the country.