CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
In recent times, the problem of global economic recession and its negative impacts on the well-being of citizens of nations, Nigeria inclusive has been drawing the attention of researchers scholars and policy makers. In Nigeria, this situation has posed a lot of challenges such as increased youths
unemployment, violence attacks, stealing and kidnapping activities by youths to list but some (Amazue & Okoli, 2004). According to Dike (2009) about 80% of Nigerian youths are unemployed while about 10% of the employed are underemployed. Amazue and Okoli (2004) remarked that youths’ unemployment tends to account for their involvement in social crimes and over dependence on government for employment. Implicitly, it could adduced that curbing these problems calls for proper guidance and counseling of school students and retooling of Nigeria educational policy to incorporate entrepreneurship education. No doubt, Obunadike (2013) remarked that when youths are properly guided and counselled, as well as equipped with entrepreneurial skills their over dependency on government for employment will reduce and they would become more of employers of labour than seekers of jobs.
Guidance and counselling are two separate terms though the former precedes the later. Guidance is a range of organized activities designed in schools to students learn and make appropriate choices in schools (Ezeji, 2011). Similarly, Owuamanam (2003) defines guidance as involving activities which are designed to help students acquire information, plan and implement programmes and enhance their decision making process in educational or vocational and personal social matters. Contextually, guidance is a helping service given to individuals to enable them achieve their potentials and be useful to themselves and the world in general.
Guidance is preventive in nature in the sense that it aimed at preventing students from groping in darkness with regards to educational and occupational challenges. When an individual is properly guided and counselled, the individual would be able to evade or overcome unnecessary problems when faced with such in life (Igwe, 2013).
Counselling is an integral element of guidance. Nwoje (2001) views it as an integral part of guidance which provides the forum for interaction between a counsellor and counsellee. According to Uzoeshi (2004) counselling is a process of assisting a client to overcome problems and become happier and more effective individual in the environment.
Operationally, counselling is defined as a helping relationship between counsellor and counsellees through which the counsellor helps counsellees (students) to maximize their potencials by providing career information, and awareness creation of job opportunities in the millennium world of work.
There are accompanying services which students gain