BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – A teachers’ group is appealing for additional guidance counselors for schools operating in the city.
Bacolod City Public School Teachers Federation chairman Richard Gelangre said in an interview over Aksyon Radyo Bacolod that schools here lack guidance counselors.
A guidance counselor assists and advises students about their academic and personal decisions, as well as provides counseling for students and assesses their ability and potential.
Gelangre said the standard is one guidance counselor for every 200 students.
However, he claimed that in Bacolod City, the ratio is one guidance counselor for more than a thousand students.
Gelangre also said the issue should be immediately addressed as it would lower incidents of violence among students, as well as lessen suicide incidents due to poor mental health.
Department of Education (DepEd) assistant secretary Dexter Galban earlier said schools all over the country face a shortage of guidance counselors to respond to students’ mental health concerns.
“While we do have mental health programs, while we have funding, if we have a limited capacity to onboard additional personnel, the effectiveness of our mental health programs will be affected negatively,” he said.
Of the more than 5,300 authorized positions for registered guidance counselors at DepEd, only 19%, or around 1,000, have been filled, according to data presented by DepEd’s Bureau of Human Resources and Organizational Development.
“The degree requirement (for guidance counselors) is not commensurate with the compensation provided to them, and therefore there are vacant positions for years on end,” Galban added.
In schools without any guidance counselors, as an alternative, teachers are assigned to become “guidance teachers” to provide psychosocial support to students.
Republic Act 9258, or the Guidance and Counseling Act of 2004, states that only registered and licensed guidance counselors can provide guidance and counseling services to avoid bringing harm to mentally distressed students.
If you or someone you know needs assistance, contact the National Center for Mental Health Crisis Hotline at +63 917 899 8727 and 7989 8727. (With a report from Philstar.com)/PN
