Teachers to take counselling into schools

BY SAMIE WAIKORI

Auki

Teachers representing schools in the central region of Malaita province to a one week counselling training in Auki.

SCHOOLS in the central region of Malaita province will soon introduce counselling programme for its students.

Teachers are currently undergoing a counselling training in Auki.

National Adolescent Health Programme Coordinator, Ms Nancy Pego said during the training earlier this week that the training is a follow-up to a family life education training MHMS and MEHRD had previously held.

The first training was to find out possible options on how to teach reproductive health in schools due to its sensitivity.

Pego said the topic of reproductive health was within the syllabus, but due to cultural barriers it would not be implemented as yet.

She said the possibility reached was for the two ministries to work together especially health workers to assist teachers in schools when it comes to the topic.

She said it was reported by teachers that there are lots of problems affecting students in schools, and one important area identified was to provide counselling for problems the students face.

“Sometimes students are absenting from schools and teachers continue to punish them or even expel them without knowing there’re problems within them.

“Teachers sometimes send students to clinics for medical attention and to their parents and guardians to sort out their problems.

“Without knowing some of the problems there are very simple that teachers if having counselling skills they can talk to students and solve the problems,” Pego said.

She said those are the areas they see important for teachers to equip with counselling skills so they can deal with the students’ problem.

Pego said the MHMS and MEHRD are working together on the programme by assisting each other to ensure students to benefit out of the programme.

She said as the training will complete, they hope teachers will go back and serve their various schools with the counselling knowledge and skills they’ve learnt.

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