CBSE revises affiliation rules to make student counseling mandatory: Check details here
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has modified its affiliation norms in order to ensure that all schools under its jurisdiction provide career guidance and counselling services to students. The changes done by CBSE across the board, aimed at promoting students’ mental health and emotional well, being, were approved by the CBSE Governing Body at the meeting held on 26th November 2025.As per the updated Clause 2.4.12, it is mandatory for every school affiliated with CBSE to have a Counseling & Wellness Teacher (Socio-Emotional Counselor) at the ratio of one for every 500 students. Furthermore, schools with an enrolment of less than 300 students must still have access to a qualified counselor either by hiring one full-time or sharing the resource through collaboration with neighbouring schools. In this way, all students, regardless of the size of their schools, will benefit from professional support.
Qualifications and competencies
Counseling & Wellness Teachers are required to possess a bachelor’s or master’s degrees in psychology, counseling, or social work. A diploma in career development or emotional counseling will be beneficial. They mainly help students in the aspects of their mental health, social and emotional development, and general welfare.Career counselors, whose work is more centered around academic and career guidance, ought to be graduates with a bachelor’s or master’s degree majoring in humanities, science, or social sciences. They are also required to undergo a professional development training of 50 hours that should be sanctioned by CBSE. These training sessions usually cater to areas such as counseling methods, career evaluation, effective engagement with pupils and parents, and adherence to professional principles.
Training and implementation
Counselors must undergo a well-structured training program and complete it within two academic years. Besides, schools may implement the CBSE Counseling Hub & Spoke Model to deliver central counseling services to a cluster of schools. This method provides students with uniform counseling on mental health, career planning, and social and emotional learning.
Towards holistic education
These changes will shift the focus of CBSE schools from grounded academics to a more comprehensive school experience. With the integration of counseling and career guidance in the curriculum, students will be nurtured emotionally, socially, and professionally.
