History and Development of Guidance and Counselling in Nigerian Educational System: The Bottlenecks

This paper examined the concepts of Guidance and Counselling, History and development of Guidance and counselling in Nigeria, principles of guidance and counseling are highlighted. The bottlenecks in the growth of Guidance and Counselling in Nigeria educational system include: All schools from primary to all tertiary institutions should be equipped with adequate counsellors in order to render quality guidance and counseling services that will help the students to realize their potentials in life. Counsellors should work hand in hand with other professionals in schools to achieve success. All stakeholders of education should collaborate together in removing the bottlenecks hindering the growth of guidance and counselling in Nigeria educational system as non-clarification of counsellor’s roles in a school setting; time allocation; location of counselling offices; shortage of counselling personnel; lack of recognition; confidentiality; problems inherent in counselling personnel; insufficient psychological testing; lack of fund; and lack of occupational information. It is recommended that fiscal support should be given to the establishment of guidance services by both the Federal and State government like other arms of educational support institutions. This would assist in the effective running of the programme.