Guidance and Counselling in Zambia. Brief History

Historical background of guidance and counselling in Zambian schools dates back to the 1967. This is an indication that before that time there was no guidance and counselling in Zambian schools. However, people have had some form of guidance and counselling in the society in all cultures. Society counselling was manifested in the relationship between elders and young people.

Traditional Guidance and Counselling in Zambia

Counselling was seen during ceremonies such as weddings and many other cerebrations. In initiation ceremonies counselling was given in form of sex education. Guidance and counselling in Zambia originated from traditions and customs. Traditionally, guidance and counselling of young people was associated to elders in a particular society. The guidance and counselling was based on Zambian values, customs and the way of life of each particular people of Zambia. Boys and girls were counselled in traditional ceremonies such as initiation.

In 1970, the Ministry of Education introduced a directive regarding the management of secondary schools, empowering teachers to assume the role of career educators. This arrangement aimed to cultivate students’ awareness of various occupational possibilities and guide them in making informed decisions about their post-school endeavors. As a result, the landscape of guidance and counseling services in secondary schools underwent a transformative shift.

Notably, a pivotal development during this period involved the establishment of a careers guidance unit within the Ministry of Education’s headquarters. A dedicated careers officer was appointed to spearhead the coordination, organization, and inspiration of the career teachers across all secondary schools, who bore the responsibility of exercising guidance within their respective institutions.

Creation of Guidance Unit in Schools

Guidance Unit was created in 1981 and operated as a separate entity to be in charge of school guidance. It can be noted from the brief literature on the school counselling in Zambia that it started with secondary schools at the time it was initiated in 1970. There were no guidance services for the learners in primary schools.

In addition to the information from the principal, school guidance and counselling, at curriculum development centre professional counselling started at the University of Zambia in 1979. Sindamba was employed as professional counsellor at the University of Zambia. After establishing counselling at the University he was moved to Luanshya at the Technical and Vocational Teachers College and he opened a guidance, counselling and placement class in 1987. Sindamba was the first lecturer of guidance and counselling at Luanshya before other lecturers joined him in 1989.

When school counselling started in secondary schools in Zambia there were no trained teachers to take up guidance and counselling in schools. The only available training was in form of workshops and seminars to orient the career teachers. The guidance counselling placement class was started with the teachers who were sent to schools to help in guidance and counselling in schools.

Formal school guidance services training in Zambia begun in 1987 at the Technical and Vocational teachers college in Luanshya (Ministry of Education, 2001). The teachers who were trained in the guidance course in Luanshya were awarded with a Guidance, Counselling and Placement diploma. The teachers who came out from this college were deployed in secondary schools. However, the teachers were not enough to cater for the many secondary schools in Zambia.

Towards The School Guidance Services

In 1990, the Guidance Unit was re-named to school guidance services. When the unit of guidance became a service, programmes such as counselling, HIV and AIDS, life skills and Girl Child education were brought in. The issue of counselling came in order to help pupils make decisions. With the coming of HIV and AIDS pandemic, schools were affected; teachers and learners were affected; thus there was need for counselling to both the teachers and the learners.

Ministry of Education (1996) recognised the importance of the HIV and AIDS education and promotion and development of life skills. Learners are to be helped through counselling in decision making, problem solving and help them cope up with other pressures in life. Through school guidance and counselling, the Ministry of Education regards HIV and AIDS as a cross cutting issue to be addressed in all subjects. Interventions have been done in relation to the advent of HIV and AIDS through Anti-AIDS clubs, drama and culture and encouraging peer counselling in schools.

In 1997, Guidance Services in Zambia were decentralized. Senior Educational Officers (SESOs) were appointed in each province in order to enhance the management of guidance and counselling services in the provinces. The programmes in the provinces, take into account issues affecting the schools such as HIV and AIDS, child abuse, sexual abuse and many other issues affecting pupils in schools.

In Zambia, today counselling of pupils is done through the department of guidance and counselling established in all schools. The school counselling is headed by a guidance and counselling teacher. However, the Ministry of Education has no adequate people to handle guidance services. At district level, there is no establishment for the position of an officer to deal with guidance and counselling but all issues regarding guidance and counselling are handled by the office of the District Education Standards Officers (DESOs) who cannot adequately handle issues of guidance and counselling as they have other duties to attend to.

In schools guidance teachers who have no formal training in guidance and counselling are appointed. They fail to handle problems encountered by the learners due to lack of training in guidance and counselling. However, strategies put in place by the Ministry of Education are that school administration should form guidance committees who should function as a policy making body to deal with issues such as instilling skills, discipline and promote pupil career choice direction (Ministry of Education, 1997).

In Zambia, school guidance and counselling is left in the hands of the teachers who are already overloaded with other teaching subjects. As a result new scale of problems such as defilements, child headed homes, drug and alcohol abuse in schools are left unattended to. It is difficult for teachers who are not trained in guidance and counselling to solve these problems.

Available literature closely related to this study is that of the re-entry policy. Mutombo and Mumbuna (2010) did a study on the re-entry policy in Zambia’s primary and secondary schools. The findings of this study revealed that the pupils who fall pregnant and later go back to school after giving birth (re-entry) were not provided with guidance and counselling services at the schools where they went. The study also revealed that the guidance and counselling facilities were available at the schools but they were not supportive to the girls.

The girls in the study stated that they were supported by some teachers out of their own good will and not through the guidance and counselling service section. Studies done elsewhere in Europe and in Africa also attested to the fact that guidance and counselling were available in schools. In Zambia, the Ministry of Education recommended that for guidance and counselling to be more successful in Zambian school, it should involve teachers, parents and the members of the community (MoE, 2000).

Guidance and counselling in schools should help the pupils to understand their abilities and skills, interest and opportunities in terms of education. It must help the learners to develop in terms of career interest, personal qualities and character formation. This calls for concerted efforts to ensure that both primary and secondary schools provide guidance and counselling to pupils in school.

A case study conducted by Mwamba (2011) on the provision of guidance and counseling services in high schools for students with visual impairments revealed that guidance and counseling were available for the students with visual impairments. However, the school counselors and the headteachers mentioned that the Ministry of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education (MESVTEE) does not provide support to the schools in terms of materials to be used in guidance and counseling.

It should be acknowledged that for guidance and counseling to be effective in schools, it requires support from the government and other education stakeholders, including parents. Phiri (2006) observed that teachers alone cannot effectively handle the learners unless they are assisted by parents, family members, and the community as a whole.