Introduction

Guidance and counselling is the process of helping individuals discover and develop their educational,
vocational and psychological potentialities and thereby to achieve an optional level of personal happiness
and social usefulness.
individuals engage in the formulation of a style of life in which individuals establish an identity and a
selfconcept. Also, individuals deals with the problem of adequate social relationship as well as the
challenges which occur in the world of educational achievement. The paper examines the challenges
militating against the guidance and couselling services in Nigerian primary schools such as insufficient
time, inadequate facilities, teachers’ attitudes and inadequate training of counsellors. All these have
negative impact on the guidance and counselling services.

The National Policy on Education (2004) stresses the pressing need for
guidance counsellors in Nigerian educational system, to cater for the sensitive disturbed
academic and societal problems. Instead, the counsellors are assigned to do jobs outside
their profession.
Professional counsellors in schools are confronted with series of issues and
challenges. The issues range from lack of appraisal tools for counselling; poor physical
facilities for counselling; inadequate communication by counsellors with teachers,
administrators, students and parents; high ratio of students to counsellors, and
counsellors’ lack of power to influence change in the school; lack of sufficient funding
for guidance activities; lack of time allotment for counselling; free choice versus
national manpower need and what exact roles counsellors should play in schools as
counsellors and reasons for their existence in the school settings; the challenges of sex
inequality and occupational counselling in Nigeria; counselling and tradition, and more
recently poor Information Communication Technology (ICT) compliance of
counsellors. According to Denga (2001), the public have a lazy, confused and blurred
perception of counsellor’s roles and functions. According to Abraham and Brown
(2011), when counsellors are posted to schools, principals assign duties to them
according to their schools need. Most of the times, the counsellors posted to some
schools may be asked to play the role of vice principals, to teach as full time teachers,
World Educators Forum
3
to act as guidance counsellors, to perform the role of career master and mistress, to act
as school clerk or cashier among others.

Challenges Militating Against Guidance and

CounselingServices in Nigerian

GENERAL PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS OF GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING IN OUR SCHOOLS AND
COLLEGES Sambo, (2008) emphasized more on the major and general problems facing guidance and
counselling in our schools and colleges which bring set back to have effective guidance in our schools
such as;

Para-counsellor: Most schools headmaster

believes that there is nothing special in guidance
and counselling that any experienced teacher
cannot do it. Most of these teachers believed that,
the counsellors are doing their jobs or see them as
rivals not knowing that the counsellors are trained
as professionals. The counsellors make use of
some psychological tests in handling pupils
issues which enable them to understand and
appreciate pupils problem during the diagnosis
and state possible solution to the problems and
knows how to relate it to the parent if need be
while Para-counsellor will not have the
understanding of these.

Time Allocation: In most of the primary

schools in Nigeria, there is no specific time
allocated for guidance and counselling services
apart from the break during which thepupils
ought to eat and relax. This time is too short for
counsellors to attend to pupils, let alone for
effective counselling to take place.

Curriculum Planning: Counsellors are the

intermediary between the pupils and teacher.
So counsellors should be active at all stages of
curriculum development and implementation of
school curriculum activities and programmes
designed to facilitate pupils development. Most
of the subjects that the pupils offer in schools
are designed to develop pupils intellectual
ability only, not minding the emotional and
psychological wellbeing of the pupils. The
involvement of counselling in curriculum
planning and development will help in putting
all the domain of leaning into consideration
which will promote the effectiveness of
teaching and learning.

Fund: Lack of adequate funds is one of the

major factors that is affecting the effectiveness
of guidance and counseling programme in
Nigeria. Counselling Association of Nigeria
(CASSON) should enforce standard for how
the office of a counsellor should look like in
schools. As an agent of curriculum
implementation, should inform the federal
government of the needs of counsellors in
schools. Counsellors in some school are not
recognized as professionals because of lack of
adequate facilities. Some headmaster
/headmistress do not provide office
accommodation for counsellors that could be
considered suitable for use as counselling office
where counselling could be carried out. Many
counsellors are just given any available space
Journal of Qualitative Education, Volume 11 No. 1 December, 2015: ISSN 0331-4790
Flora Adebukola Haastrup
7
to use as counselling office. Many are not
provided with the facilities and materials required
to practice effectively.
There should be adequate fund allocated
from the three tiers of government and school
management, to carry out some programmes like
career day, career weeks, vocational training and
seminar for the counsellorsin order to improve on
their profession and perform excellently on their
job.

Political Influence: Political influence in country

is another factor affecting guidance and
counsellingprogramme.Some State government
do not believe the need of counsellors in schools,
due to lack of understanding of the duty of
counsellor in schools. The educational planner
should have a standard across the country that
will be stronger than the political influence of
each state. The appointment of educational leader
should not be based on political appointment,
because most of the people be appointed as
commissioner of education and minister of
education are not educationist which may have no
idea of what education of a nation or state should
look like.

Changes in Educational Plolicy: Changes in

educational policy is another factor that affects
the effectiveness of guidance and counselling
services in primary schools. Most of the aims of
so called new advancement in education would
not have been achieved before another set of idea
comes up. There should be a stable educational
policy and it should be uniform across the
country. Each idea should be attained before
introducing another one.

Availability of Trained Personnel: For as must

as a teacher cannot be appointed as a medical
doctor in the hospital, any other professionals
should not be appointed as schools counsellors.
Professional counsellor should be allocated to all
primary schools for effective guidance and
counselling services.

10 Problems Facing Guidance and Counselling in Nigeria and Solutions

By Olusegun Iyejare / August 30, 2022

While in the University as a student counsellor, one of the biggest issues we had to come to terms with is
the fact that guidance and counselling isn’t thriving in Nigeria.
Years after years, thousands of people keep graduating with counselling degrees but what we see is that
the country seems not to be acknowledging the fact that there are some people called counsellors and
because of this there are no rooms for counsellors in the world of work.

Although not statistically proven, I can safely guess that over 70% of graduates of guidance and
counselling never practice as counsellors. And for those who are practising, the two most visible options
are to become guidance and counselling lecturers and to work in a public school.

But why is this so? In this article, I have explored 10 problems affecting guidance and counselling in
Nigeria and what can be done about them.

Related: 8 Problems Affecting Counseling Practicum And Solutions

Problems Affecting Guidance and Counselling in Nigeria

1. Inadequate sensitisation of citizens
This is the biggest and most obvious reason why counselling is not thriving in Nigeria. People don’t just
know about counselling or what it can offer to them. In fact, a good number of my coursemates in the
University then, said they first heard about the course when they were offered admission.

If the counsellors who are studying counselling themselves are just getting to know about what they do,
how then can others patronise what they don’t know about?

If there is one single reformation that can change the prospect of guidance and counselling in Nigeria, it is
to let every citizen hear about counselling and how it can help their lives.

2. Incompetence among counsellors

This is another major problem of counselling in Nigeria. Most of the graduates of guidance and
counselling cannot practice professionally and people know. Even counsellors know they are not skilled
enough to help clients (except for a small proportion). So even among those who have heard about
counselling, they are not patronising Nigerian counsellors because they know they can’t deliver.
Various schools have employed counsellors and laid them off because they can’t see any contribution the
counsellors are making in their school. If a new wave of counsellors rises whose services can actually
change lives, more people will hear about it. Counsellors need to train themselves and up their games.

3. Inadequate advocacy from counsellors

Now from the counsellors who are skilled and can actually deliver, there is no advocacy. Counsellors
aren’t making enough noise and fighting for their cause in Nigeria. I have not witnessed any campaign
from counsellors, I have not seen any billboard, Newspaper column, or TV broadcast advocating for
counsellors.

Even online, when I was trying to do some research to write this article, the only resources I found about
counselling in Nigeria were academic research (projects) and we know no one reads projects except they
want to write their own project.

Counsellors who are sure they have something to offer must take up a stand and advocate for themselves
until their voices are heard.

4. Non-functioning professional bodies

So why aren’t counsellors advocating? Because our professional bodies aren’t functioning. In the
University we were taught of the existence of CASSON and APROCON but that was the end. We
weren’t told how to join the bodies, the activities of the bodies, or where their offices are.

At least, in my final year we heard about TRCN and we were given the option to join if we wanted. But
nothing is heard of CASSON or APROCON. I just checked CASSON’s Facebook page now and nothing
is happening there except for an invitation to an event asking us to pay ₦16,000.

The last publication on CASSON’s website was in 2019. APROCON’s website, on the other hand, was
inaccessible when I tried. This shows how the professional bodies of counsellors don’t even believe in
their cause.

5. Inadequate funding
I know I have been tough on counsellors in the last two points but it is understandable. Counselling
bodies and advocacy programmes cannot run without funding, and a lot of it, but we still need advocacy
programmes to convince the government to give us funding to do advocacy. This is a funny situation.
Individuals can rise, however, and start something. We can leverage influential relationships to both
source for funds and advocate for us. There are several counsellors in government who can make a
difference.

6. Unfavourable government policies

This is another problem of counsellors in Nigeria. I heard few years ago that the Kwara State government
no longer recognises counsellors in public schools (our only hope). They said you either choose to teach
or there’s no job for you.

This is just one of several government policies affecting guidance and counselling in Nigeria and the way
out is still intensified advocacy as stated earlier.

7. Proliferation of quasi counsellors

If you look at your neighbourhood closely enough, you will find that it is not as though people aren’t
looking for counsel. It is just that they aren’t going to professional counsellors for counselling.

Week after week, the offices of pastors are filled with people who go for counselling. So the presence of
quasi counsellors is another reason why professional counselling isn’t thriving in Nigeria. This wouldn’t
be an issue though if counsellors can portray themselves as solution providers. People will go anywhere
for a solution if they are sure they will get it.

8. Over dependence on government or conventional counselling approaches

The only way to practice as a counsellor is not until the government approves of us. Just like I stated in
the previous point, since what people are looking for are solutions, if you can come up with creative and
innovative ways of rendering your services, you will thrive.

For instance, instead of complaining about quasi counsellors in churches you can partner with the church
by convincing the leadership and making them see how effective you can be. Don’t say they won’t
accept, persuasion is a skill that can be learnt. I have covered creative ways you can practice in this post
here:

10 Easy Ways To Make Money As A Counsellor or Therapist In Nigeria

How To Get A Job As A Counsellor in Any Organization
9. Offering counselling degrees to uninterested students
Now, we are back to institutional challenges facing counselling in Nigeria. I didn’t apply for guidance
and counselling. I applied for Computer Science but the University of Ilorin offered me Counsellor
Education.

Thankfully I later loved the course because I had interest in the field. But I am just 1 out of 265 students
in my set. Till I graduated, I didn’t see any of my classmates who said guidance and counselling was what
they wanted to study and even after graduation, most of my course mates weren’t interested in the field.

Graduating more students who don’t want to be counsellors only tarnishes the image of the profession
even more because those who see a graduate of guidance and counselling who cannot practice because
they aren’t interested will think that’s how other counsellors are.

Universities should stop making guidance and counselling a dumping ground for students who don’t
qualify for other courses.

To get more people to study the course, the approach should be sensitizing secondary school students and
increasing career guidance programmes so that only those who are truly interested in practicing will
become counsellors.

Conclusion
Lack of shared understanding in the
school and community about the role of
guidance and counselling, lack of confidential
space to meet client, poor referrals and
appointment process and allocated time are
some of the challenges militating against
guidance and counsellingprogramme in
Nigerian primary schools. School guidance
counsellors help to make learning a positive
experience for pupils. Guidance counsellors
also help to identify the problems associated
with effective teaching and learning. The paper
examined the challenges militating against
effective guidance and counselling services in
Nigerian primary schools. The guidance
counsellors in the primary schools should
realize his counselling approaches and should
be such that will enable him to meet the needs
of primary school children.
Recommendations
This paper recommends that guidance
and counselling to effectively meet the
challenges militating Nigerian primary school,
there is need for the following:
i. The government should start
counselling of pupils in Nigerian primary
schools. The school guidance counsellor plays
a major role in the academic achievement of
primary school pupils in Nigeria.
ii. Relevant facilities and furniture needed
to run the counsellingprogramme should be
provided by the government and the school
management.
iii. Workshop and seminars should be
organized for schools heads who see counsellor
as unimportant in primary schools.
Statement of the Problem
For successful organization of any guidance and counselling programme,
attempt should be made to clarify the role of the counsellor. This lack of clarification of
role has led to some unpleasant experiences especially by young and training
counsellors sent to schools (Torbab, 2009).

Some principals of schools are not too clear of the role of guidance counsellors
and some vice principals even viewed counsellors as rivals (Ekpenyong, 2011). These
young counsellors are regarded with suspicion even by other teachers, as such, they are
offered very little or no cooperation. Elvis (2011) found out that some counsellors, due
to addition to teaching loads to their counselling activities decide to forsake
counselling.

Also, the kind of organization or school structure according to Mkpouto (2012)

determines very much the kind of reception the introduction of counselling services
will receive. The structure of most school systems is such that, authority is vested on
the principal of which, nobody could question. Again, issues such as finance, schedule
of time, location of counsellor’s office and keeping of records cannot be overlooked.
Funds for the innovative efforts of counsellors had not usually been forthcoming since
school heads find it difficult to release funds for counselling activities in school.

According to Udom (2010), no meaningful services are cheap. Funds are

needed for the purchase of counselling materials like psychological test, collection and
keeping of information. The location of the counsellor’s office affects the attitude of
students towards counselling. Mkpouto (2012) revealed an account of a school where
the counsellor was given a room directly opposite the staffroom and students seen
going in where questioned by members of staff. The students felt disturbed. Many
schools do not provide a befitting room for guidance and counselling services. Some of
Issues and Challenges Facing Counsellors in Nigerian Schools Setting: A Dilemma to
Education- Conchi-Miriam Brown, (Ph.D.)
4
the counsellor’s rooms are in the administrative blocks while others are close to the
principal’s office. The counsellors office should be located in a separate block distance
away from the administrative and principal’s office preferably by the entrance of the
school. This will give room for confidentiality.

Record keeping is very important in counselling especially for reference

purposes. However, because of inadequate arrangement of rooms, the counsellor often
becomes the clerical staff and even the cashier. Keeping of records is a forgotten issue
in some schools, because it is not easy for the counsellor to combine counselling
services with the clerical duties.

Confidentiality of given information is very paramount in counselling

programmes. Students need to be assured that, their secrets will not be unveiled.
However, some principals and teachers expect the counsellors to divulge this
information when they are required; this is absolutely against the ethics of the
profession. In this case, the counsellor finds himself between two opposing forces. If he
insists on keeping such information secret, his relationship with other members of staff
and the principal will be shaky. If he divulges the secrets, he looses the respect and
confidence the students have for him. The students’ confidence in the counselling
programme goes along way to enhance, the effectiveness of the school counsellor.

Another challenge is in terms of the counsellor’s age. The public, according to

Olayinka (2008) and Mkpouto (2012) have created problems concerning age. Some
people have come to the conclusion that, older counsellors are better than the young
ones because of their experiences and their commitment to duties. This attitude shown
by some principals and teachers has also influenced the students to behave awkwardly
toward the counsellors. Most students would rather seek counselling assistance from
older counsellors than the younger ones (Joseph, 2012). It is very disheartening to
notice that, some counsellors are the architects of their own problems in the school
system. If the school personnel liaise with the counsellors duties in schools, it is
necessary on the part of the councellors to work harder and pull their weight to negate
the ill feelings and suspicion about them instead of standing aloof and being lazy. For
 the smooth functioning of guidance and counselling services, the importance of
psychological tests cannot be overemphasized for the counsellors usage. The limitation
however, is that most of these tests are foreign, some counsellors find it difficult to
interpret and also, if applied on people in this environment, it may lead to cultural bias.
There is need for more indigenous psychological tests.

Problems facing the effective guidance and counseling services

Odu (2004) stated that the main aim of guidance and counselling is to assist the student
to develop physically, mentally, emotionally, morally and educationally to cope with the
learning situations within and outside the school environment. Some of these services
provided by counsellors are hindered because of the following problems;

1. Lack of trained counsellors: Despite the fact that there are many holders of higher
degrees in guidance and counselling in Nigeria today, not as many are qualified to be
real counsellors because they lack the skills necessary for the practice. There is limited
number of trained counsellors in Nigerian schools and the ones already trained choose
to go into non-school settings (Akinade 2012).
2. Doubt about the efficacy of guidance and counselling: Some people such as
uninitiated colleagues, teachers, principals or administrators doubt the efficacy of
counselling. They are skeptical about reliance on its use. (Orubu 1986, Akinade 1990).
3. Lack of commitment of Government officers: Ogunyemi (2003) noted that
although the federal Government entrenched the guidance and counselling programme
in the NPE (1981), there is still much to do when it comes to practical support and its
implementation. He noted that more committed action will help the growth of the
profession.

4. Lack of or inadequate funding: Guidance and counselling is not well funded today,
the education enterprise has become a costly venture. Enough funds are not allocated to
each school to run its various services. Where funds are available, very little is
earmarked for counselling purposes. It seems the various levels of government (Federal,
state and Local)

do not want to stretch their budgets with extra demands from emerging unit such as
guidance and counselling, yet it is known that effective counselling demands adequate
funding to purchase items such as psychological tests, journals and various publications,
play gadgets, cardboards and various felt pens as well as money to organize activities
such as Orientation, Excursions, career clubs and Career Day/week and furnishing a
counsellor’s office.

5. Confidentiality: Clients expect that their secrets or privileged information be kept

secret or confidential and not exposed to others. However, referrals agents such as
 teachers, peers, parents, principals etc expect counsellors to divulge such information to
them. Failure of the counsellor to reveal the “secret” may raise the degree of suspicion of
his activities. Revealing the secrets lead to loss of faith in counselling and counsellors on
one part will lose clients. Yet all these are happening. (Akinade 2012)
6. Counsellors created problems: Counsellors also create major problems to guidance
and counselling delivery. Some are not fully committed to the counselling profession.
Instead of being serious minded in their counselling duties, some join in the staff room
discussions.
7. Feeling of suspicion of the role/of integrity of counsellors: Some school
personnels still see the counsellor as having a “hidden agenda” or something to hide
when a client goes into the counselling room (where this is available) some give
counsellors negative or derogatory labels. This is more so where the other workers doubt
the moral integrity of counsellors who give individual counselling to young ones. This
feeling becomes more serious when a male counsellor treats female students and gives
the interaction high confidentiality (Oladejo 2006).
8. Blurred role of the guidance counsellor: Several people in the society do not know
the specific roles of the counsellor. Even in the school settings, where awareness is
expected to be high, school personnel such as teachers and principals do not understand
or they misconstrue the functions of the counsellors. For instance, Makinde (1980)
wrote that head teachers see them as rivals instead of helpers.

Conclusion
Based on the findings of this study, it is concluded that counsellors in Nigerian
school settings are faced with many issues ranging from role classification,
uncooperative attitudes of school heads and other school personnel. Again, counsellors
in Nigerian schools encountered series of challenges such as lack of funds, inability of
Issues and Challenges Facing Counsellors in Nigerian Schools Setting: A Dilemma to
Education- Conchi-Miriam Brown, (Ph.D.)
14
clients to open up, lukewarm attitude of government and other stakeholders to
counsellors and their discipline.
Both male and female counsellors are faced with similar challenges in Nigerian
schools while more challenges are faced by younger counsellors than the older ones.
Human beings are greater resources than gold or uranium. Guidance
Counsellors need to prospect for human talent and offer maximum managerial service
in helping channel the educational and vocational resources of youths into appropriate
tracks for effective economic, social, political and cultural development. The
government and the educational sectors should therefore, give Guidance Counsellors
the opportunity to project their importance in order to effectively curb the educational
dilemma in Nigeria.

Counselling Implications/Recommendations
Based on the findings of this study, the counselling implications and
recommendations are that, counsellors in various states in Nigeria should organize
moral counselling and advocacy sensitization programmes for the heads of the school,
teachers, parents and entire society on proper awareness and re-orientation about
counselling as discipline, roles and functions of counsellors, its importance and
contributions to the achievement of educational objectives. Intensive counselling reorientation for the
young counsellors who are not yet mature to withstand various
challenges facing the profession should be made urgently.
Counsellors need to be able to compare the way problems and challenges are
solved in different cultures. Every counsellor must learn about coping and adjusting
strategies. The knowledge will stimulate interest and empathic understanding client’s
needs cross culturally, thus destroying the counsellor’s insularity and ethnocentrism.
Also, whatever the situation in schools, the counsellor should encourage cooperation
with school heads and other school personnel.
There is need for guidance and counselling services to move out of the school
confinement to non-educational setting such as industries, prisons, hospitals, churches,
mosques, remand homes and rehabilitation centers for proper advocacy of the
profession.

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