School-Based Counselling Services: Contemporary Challenges and Future Possibilities Childhood is a journey, not a race.

Abstract Children are the most important assets of any country and the most important human resource for overall development. Schools are among the settings outside the home where children can acquire new knowledge and skills to grow into productive and capable citizens who can engage, support, and help their communities grow and prosper. We have entered the new millennium, and as part of a rapidly changing society, we must appraise the psychosocial needs and influences on the child and adolescent who is carrying the baton of the human chain into the 21st Century. With nearly 10-12% of children in our country needing professional help and guidance for emotional and behavioural problems, the role of school counsellors for a positive school climate is indeed paramount. The need to work with schoolchildren with such problems was recognised as early as the beginning of the 20th century, especially in the USA. By the middle of this century, it had drawn the attention of several professionals – social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists and psychometrics. Each one is contributing towards the development of these services. It soon influenced educators and mental health professionals in our country as well. N.C.E.R.T. Schools; Counselling; Mental well-being