At a time when schools across India are grappling with rising mental health concerns and the ever increasing need for emotional safety in classrooms, actor and humanitarian Aamir Khan joined Ganesh Kohli, Founder – IC3 Movement for an exclusive conversation. Referencing his upcoming film Sitaare Zameen Par, which explores the lives of neurodiverse adults, Aamir Khan emphasized the importance of building empathy-driven systems that recognize and support neurodiversity beyond childhood and across all stages of life.
The dialogue relayed live to audiences, titled “Education and Counseling for Inclusion,” brought together educators, counselors, and students from across the globe. But beyond the event, it became a microcosm of a growing call for schools to do more than just educate, to truly listen, support, and include learners who need additional care and understanding.
Aamir Khan shared personal reflections including experiences with neurodiversity within his own family, and spoke of the gaps he sees in how schools approach mental health. “We speak of excellence,” he said, “but forget that real learning happens only when a child feels safe, emotionally and mentally.”
The importance of this conversation is reflected in sobering data from IC3’s recent research reports. According to its report Student Suicides: An Epidemic Sweeping India, more than 13,000 students commit suicide in the country each year. This figure is nearly double the growth rate of general suicides, with student suicides increasing by 4 percent annually. These statistics point to a deep emotional crisis that demands immediate attention across educational institutions.
Adding further perspective, the 2024 Annual Student Quest Report by IC3 that surveyed students and counselors across 56 countries to understand how young people perceive their academic and emotional journeys. The findings revealed that 81 percent of students and 83 percent of counselors believe that connecting personal values such as passion and purpose to career choices significantly enhances a student’s confidence, clarity, and mental well-being. Nearly half of all students reported beginning career-related conversations between the ages of 12 and 14, highlighting the critical importance of early, structured interventions that support both emotional and academic growth.
In his conversation with Mr Aamir Khan, IC3 Founder Ganesh Kohli, explored several urgent themes in Indian education today, “Participants examined how stigma around mental health still persists in schools and how academic pressure often overshadows emotional development. They also agreed to the critical need for well-trained counselors and the need for emotionally intelligent educators. As Ganesh emphasized, “Inclusion must go beyond intention. It requires transforming mindsets, policies, and day-to-day interactions so that every student has the confidence to speak up and belongs in the classroom.”
Known for his powerful films like Taare Zameen Par, 3 Idiots, and now Sitaare Zameen Par, Aamir Khan has long championed conversations around education, inclusion, and empathy, as he acknowledged IC3’s work and said that, “Teachers should be the highest paid professionals in the country, in any society. It should be the most important job, and a job that only the best get. Because a bad teacher can destroy several generations. I believe that things have changed a lot. I am glad that people like Ganesh and the special educators who joined us are working in this space. I am happy that things are moving ahead, and are changing, and are getting better for kids.”
Educators joining events from around the world echoed the crisis: students facing anxiety, academic burnout, and emotional silencing, often without the language to ask for help. The dialogue did not just spotlight problems, but offered a roadmap, more counselors in schools, training for teachers, family involvement from early years, and holistic education models focused on emotional readiness instead of just academic scores.
This session is part of IC3’s broader initiative to embed career and college counseling into the foundation of every school, shifting the focus from test scores and admissions to student well-being, purpose, and inclusion. Building on these themes, the conversation also sets the stage for deeper engagement at the upcoming 2025 Annual IC3 Conference & Expo in August 2025, where the theme “Counseling as a Culture” will be explored further to emphasize the need for sustained, systemic change in how schools nurture and support every learner. The event is scheduled for August 20–21 at the Jio World Convention Centre, Mumbai. It will bring together high school educators, university and industry representatives, and policymakers from 95+ countries, providing a dynamic platform for knowledge exchange, global networking, and discussions on integrating career and college counseling into school education.
