The Kenya Counselling and Psychologist Association (KCPA) has ignited calls to have guidance and counselling taught as a compulsory subject in secondary schools.
KCPA Chairperson Catherine Gachutha said deliberations between the association and the Ministry of Education are underway to have the subject incorporated into the school timetable.
Prof. Gachutha said that equipping students with basic psychosocial support skills will help them deal with their emotions and curb cases of indiscipline, which she attributed to the poor mental health of learners.
“By offering counselling as a subject, our country will be giving a rebirth to our learning institutions. It will also make a lot of difference in terms of improving performance as learners are able to express their emotions and seek help whenever they feel stressed,” she said.
The chairperson also emphasised the need for more teachers and non-teaching staff to be equipped with counselling skills. She noted that most guidance and counselling departments are dormant due to understaffing and appealed to the government to assign more counsellors to schools.
Prof. Gachutha was speaking at Chinga Boys High School in Othaya, Nyeri County, during the launch of a counselling programme. During the occasion, a total of 1,500 students received counselling and mentorship sessions from the Second Chance Counselling Centre.
On her part, the Centre’s Managing Director, Rose Gathii, underscored the importance of mentoring learners during their formative years in school. Ms. Gathii said that in addition to creating safe spaces to express their emotions, students also need to be equipped with life skills such as stress and anger management as a way of helping them navigate crises.
“Our goal is to help the students with physical, emotional, and mental health issues. Through counselling, we aim to improve their sense of well-being, alleviate their feelings of distress, and resolve any crisis in their life that could get them stuck away from their bright future,” Ms. Gathii said.
By Wangari Mwangi
