Why every citizen has a right to guidance and counselling

As incoming president of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors, I am heartened by the support that guidance and counselling is currently receiving from both political and educational sources.

The Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, spoke recently about the provision of comprehensive services in health and education. David Andrews, in his column in The Irish Times on October 20th, wrote: "Having created a first-world economy, we must now build a first world society." Yet, during the term of the present Government, when the resources to give all our citizens a comprehensive guidance and counselling service were never more readily available, we find that each guidance counsellor is still expected to provide this service to between 500 to 800 clients.

Due to the demographic trends evident since the mid-1980s, the number of students in our second-level schools is dropping. As the numbers in a particular school fall below 500, we find the ludicrous situation where a fully-qualified professional guidance counsellor, skilled in dealing with the career and personal guidance needs of his or her students, has his or her time allocation to deal with students reduced by half.

The guidance counsellor is now forced to return to subject teaching, thus denying young teachers the opportunity to use their recently-acquired skills, which have been paid for by you, the taxpayer.

In certain areas of the State, due to amalgamations of smaller schools or the existence of a single school for a large geographic area, a single guidance counsellor is expected to deal comprehensively with the needs of up to 800 students.

If this situation seems to be incomprehensible to you, these same ratios apply to adults. Can you imagine attempting to provide a comprehensive guidance and counselling service to more than 500 adults made up of the long-term unemployed, ex-prisoners, asylum- seekers and refugees? Back in 1983, at a time when our national wealth was a fraction of what it is today, the ratio of guidance counsellors to students was one to 250.

It is not just myself, speaking on behalf of my professional colleagues, who finds this situation intolerable. Those responsible for the management of our schools are fully aware of the enormous need for guidance and counselling that remains unmet due to lack of funding of this basic service.

Mary McGlynn, director of the National Association for Principals and Deputy Principals, writing in EL on October 16th, stated clearly: "Students have a totally inadequate guidance and counselling service."

What is it that guidance counsellors are facing daily in our schools?

They must deal with assessing the educational needs of every student, guiding and directing them towards a career choice compatible with their aptitudes and interests. Each student, be they adult or child, is unique and is entitled to a comprehensive service during their time in school. Many students are not getting this level of service due to the reasons outlined above.

The result is a huge waste of money and resources, as students drop out of unwisely-chosen courses at third level. Many of them cannot afford to pay the fees involved in starting on a new programme of studies after they have discovered where their true interests lie. Figures published in the current year show drop-out rates of up to 40 per cent for some courses.

How can any Minister for Education justify that level of waste - and all for the want of a properly-resourced service at the appropriate time?

The second aspect of the guidance counsellor's work is in the area of personal counselling.

I, along with many of my colleagues, added to my initial qualification as a guidance counsellor - in my own time, and at my own expense - by becoming fully certified in various forms of therapy. These skills are absolutely essential in order to deal with the vast range of personal and social problems facing schools today. No funding is provided to support this training. There is no supervision of a professional nature for guidance counsellors engaged in this work.

This situation is incredibly dangerous, as many students are living deeply stressful lives, due to family breakdown and the stresses and strains of modern living.

How can any responsible government allow a situation to continue where the most vulnerable in our society are being supported, to the best of their ability, by counsellors who receive no professional support or services in the course of this counselling work?

As I embark on my term as president of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors, I hope to raise public awareness of the right of every citizen to guidance and counselling at appropriate stages in their lives.

This is a basic right in any caring society - apart from being highly cost-effective in the long term. I hope to be able, during my term of office, to persuade the Government to fund such a service properly, so as to enable every citizen to live out his or her life to their full potential.

Give guidance counsellors the resources and professional supports to do their job effectively.