Impact of Attitudes and Facilities in Effective Implementation of Guidance and Counselling Programmes in Selected Institutes of Technology in Nyanza Province, Kenya

Abstract

Education systems in the world today are acting as the main agents for social change. Learners attending this systems are always away from their parents and other elderly people who would help them cope with challenges they face. This has necessitated inclusion of guidance and counselling department services in most institutions. In Kenya the government introduced this in all learning institutions. Even with this, students studying in Institutes of Technology in Nyanza province in Kenya display a host of problems ranging from poor academic performance to low self-esteem, which drive them to open drunkenness, skipping of classes, stealing other people’s property, sexual misconduct and actual or attempted suicide. The problems exist despite the fact that guidance and counselling programmes are in place in these institutions. The purpose of this study therefore was to establish the impact of attitudes and facilities in effective implementation of guidance and counselling programmes in the Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) institutions in Nyanza province. The study employed the descriptive survey research design. It was carried out in Moi Institute of Technology (MIT) and Gusii Institute of Technology (GIT). The target population constituted of principals, the teacher counsellors and the students of the two institutions. Each institution had two teacher counsellors. MIT had 600 students and GIT had 1800 students making a total of 2400. The sample size was made of 2 principals, 4 teacher counsellors and 240 students. Purposive sampling was used to select the principals and the teacher counsellors. Stratified random sampling and simple random sampling were used to select the student’s sample. Data was collected using questionnaires and it was analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results of the study indicated that the major challenge facing effective implementation of guidance and counselling programs in the Institutes of Technology (ITs) was lack of sufficient facilities due to poor support by the principals and Board of Governors (BOG). The researcher therefore recommends that there is need for all principals of ITs in Nyanza to be taken through a thorough and informative training on the importance of giving full support to guidance and counselling programs in their institutions. There is also need to work towards changing the negative attitude towards guidance and counselling held by some students.