INFLUENCE OF GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING SERVICES ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND TRANSITION RATE OF TARABA STATE STUDENTS INTO TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the influence of guidance and counselling services on academic achievement and transition rate of Taraba state students into tertiary institutions. Four research questions answered, using mean and standard deviation, and three null hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significance using t-test statistics and chi-square guided the study. Population of the study was 1,800 SS III students in Wukari and Donga education zones of Taraba state. The sample size was 364 students drawn through simple random sampling technique. The study adopted an ex-post-facto research design. The instrument for data collection were students WAEC result to answer research questions 2 – 4 and a structured questionnaire developed by the researcher which was validated by three experts from the faculty of education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, to answer research question one (1). Main findings of the study revealed, among others, that guidance and counselling services influence Taraba state students’ academic achievement and transition rate into tertiary institutions. Transition rate of female students in Taraba state is higher than the transition rate of their male counterpart. There was a significance difference in the transition rate of Taraba state secondary school students exposed to guidance and counselling services and those not exposed. Major implication of the findings is that academic achievement and rate of transition of Taraba state students into tertiary institutions will be enhanced, if the government can release more funds for in-service training of school counsellors to upgrade their knowledge and skills. The researcher therefore recommended that, government should as a matter of urgency, employ more school counsellors and also train and retrain the existing ones for maximum output.