What is today known as “traditional guidance” had been
the means by which Nigerians used in solving their problems before the
commencement of organized or formal guidance services. Nigerians are known to
be their brothers, keepers who feel concerned in seeking means of helping one
another out of problem situations.
The instruments of helping people to overcome their social, personal educational and occupational problems are the priests, teachers, principals, elders, fortune tellers, priests, imams, title holders and friends.
The instruments of helping people to overcome their social, personal educational and occupational problems are the priests, teachers, principals, elders, fortune tellers, priests, imams, title holders and friends.
These “guidance person” used their wealth of knowledge, the
confidence on their age experiences and status to advise the individual in his
problem. As a result of recent social, political, economic, educational and
technological changes in Nigerian peoples’ problems today are taking more complicated
form. These changes have rendered the traditional guidance mechanism grossly
inadequate.
THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF GUIDANCE IN NIGERIA
In recognizing the need for expert advice to students
ins secondary schools in the choice of their careers and subjects, the federal
ministry of labour organized routine visit to secondary schools in different
parts of the country. For examples, as far back as 1947, representatives form
the ministry of labour were sent to Bendel state (then part of the western
region) to give talks to form five students on careers and subject choice.
It is generally accepted that in Nigeria, the
organized or formal counseling started in 1959 at St. Therese’s college, Oke
Ado in Ibadan by seeking admission for further studies so that the students
will have no problems on looking for employment and adjusting to the hard
conditions in the society after leaving school by some reverend sisters out
sympathy and concern for the product of their school. Consequently, the sisters
invited twenty educated people from the Ibadan community who where in different
professions and therefore knew more about the emerging world of work than the
students and the sisters. This were to advice the sisters on how to place sixty
of their out-going students of that year in various jobs. Fifty four out of the
sixty students benefited from the expert advice latter in 1962 came together to
form the Ibadan careers council. Some other careers councils of cities sprang
up in different parts of the country (Enugu, kano, kaduan etc) which latter
emerged to form the nucleus of the Nigerian careers council published a journal
known as CAREERS. The activities of the
council helped in no small measure in the growth and development of guidance
and counseling in Nigeria.
Another significant event that boosted the spread and
development of guidance in Nigeria was a visit to Sweden, France and U.S.A in
1962 by standardized psychological tests used for counseling in Nigeria.
Prominent among them are the student problem inventory (SPI), vocational
interest inventory (vii); motivation for occupation preference scale (MOPS) and
study habit inventory (SHI) professor J. O. Akinboy’s Adolescent personal data
inventory (APDI) is equally useful for guidance and counseling today in
Nigeria.
Consequent upon the various guidance activities going
on in various parts of the country, a guidance and career unit was established
by the federal ministry of education in 1961 directed by education officers.
The unit was temporarily suspended as a result of civil war in Nigeria in 1966.
In 1967, the then Midwest (now Bendel) ministry of education set up a committee
on the issue of counseling in the secondary schools within the state. The
implementation lingered till 1872 when an inspector of education was appointed
to take responsibility for vocational and education guidance in the state
secondary schools. Adugbo (1980) reveals that by 1975, there was scarcely any
secondary school in bendel state without a career master mistress even though
many of them were in active.
By the late 1970s the governments had already recognized
the importance of guidance and counseling in the educational, economic and
social life of the nation. In the 3rd national development plan
(1975-1980), emphasis was laid on the need for guidance and counseling in order
to achieve the man power needs of the nation. The government realized that for
education to be complete, the beneficiaries must have a good sense of self
fulfillment.
This particular feeling must go with the right choice of career the absence of career counseling in our educational and training systems with adequate federal and state government encouragement. This was similarly re-echoed in the National policy on education (1977) that in the view of the apparent ignorance of many young people about careers prospects, and in view of personality maladjustment among school children careers officers and counselors will be appointed in post-primary institutions. Since qualified personnel in this category is scarce, government will continue to make provisions for the training of interested teachers in guidance and counseling.
This particular feeling must go with the right choice of career the absence of career counseling in our educational and training systems with adequate federal and state government encouragement. This was similarly re-echoed in the National policy on education (1977) that in the view of the apparent ignorance of many young people about careers prospects, and in view of personality maladjustment among school children careers officers and counselors will be appointed in post-primary institutions. Since qualified personnel in this category is scarce, government will continue to make provisions for the training of interested teachers in guidance and counseling.
The counseling association of Nigeria (CASSON) was
launched on 11th November, 1976 with professor Olu Makinde as the
foundation president in 1977 the association was affiliated to the American
personnel and guidance association (APGA) CAN also published a journal called
counselor.
Sixteen Nigerian education officials and educators
they were charged with the responsibility of studying the educational system of
these countries in order to find out the elements of such educational system
that would be adaptable tot eh Nigerian situation in order to improve the
country’s educational system one of the key recommendations of the group was
the establishment of comprehensive schools, for Nigeria whose functions would
be to channel pupils into courses of study suitable to their individual
abilities and interest geared towards the need of the country. They further
recommended that proper guidance and counseling was of fundamental importance
and that many Nigerian teachers be trained in vocational guidance since each
comprehensive school would have at least one guidance officer.
Almost in line with the groups recommendations for
school adapting to the needs of the child and society through comprehensive
secondary schools, the Aiyetoro comprehensive high school was established in
1963 as a demonstration school. It has a Harvard USAID staff (a trained
counselor) who started a guidance programme in the school based on their
abilities aptitudes and interest using some standardized tests latter, more
Harvard/USAID counselors were sent to Aiyetoro High school to solidify guidance
programme in the school and to help in training more Nigerians in vocational
and educational guidance.
The story of the history and development of guidance
in Nigeria would be incomplete without mentioning the establishment and
contribution of the test development and research office (TEDRO) a branch of
the West African examination council (WAEC) TEDRO was established in December,
1963 charged with the construction and analysis of psychometric instruments.
When established, its functions were stated as follows.
i.
The development
and administration of manpower selection tests for educational governmental,
industrial and commercial use,
ii.
The development
of guidance techniques and tests for use in schools and other government
institutions.
iii.
To conduct and
encourage basic and applied research to further the improvement of manpower
selection, guidance and other related educational problems.
TEDRO development up to twenty-one internationally
standardized aptitude tests adapted to the Nigerian and West African conditions
used for various selections into technical skilled jobs, mechanical oriented
jobs, clerical jobs and evaluation of academic performance at secondary and
commercial levels. Many schools, ministries and organization used the TEDRO
test to counsel their students, workers for various courses of study and jobs.
For example, the Aiyetoro comprehensive high school for screening and streaming
of students the then western state ministry of education for lower forms of all
secondary institutions in the state.