6,000 students receive guidance or counselling

Counsellors and guidance teachers of the Education Division provided individual sessions to nearly 6,000 state secondary level students during the academic year 2002-2003, according to statistics issued by the Guidance and Counselling Services.

The majority of sessions related to personal issues, followed by help with problems of an educational nature, vocational guidance and support related to bullying.

The service aims to promote the holistic development of pupils and students by providing prevention and intervention services and by offering personal, curricular and career guidance and counselling.

There are 16 counsellors responsible for secondary schools and one for primary schools. There are also 109 guidance teachers in 35 state secondary schools, including Junior Lyceums and area secondaries.

Together, they are responsible for nearly 19,000 boys and girls.

Apart from individual sessions, the counsellors help students and parents in making educational and vocational choices by organising talks, meetings and orientation visits to various places of work and training centres.

Guidance teachers perform the duties of a teacher but also organises talks, seminars and visits for students and parents, giving information on subject options and career choices.

Projects carried out by the Guidance and Counselling Services include transition talks for Year 6 students and their parents, school orientation talks and visits, talks on post-secondary education and parenting skills programmes.

Nearly 3,000 students attended career seminars in the 2002-3 scholastic year, while some orientation visits, such as to the Swatar Training Centre and Institute of Tourism Studies, were organised for more than 1,000 students.

Talks to students ranged from drug abuse and sexual education to health and nutrition and leadership. There were also sessions in study skills, applying for a job, self-esteem and teen safety, among others.

The service has just launched a new website: http://schoolnet.gov.mt/guidance/GuidanceNews.htm