STUDENT ADVICE - Call to reverse cuts to guidance counselling

Teachers have called for the immediate reversal of cuts to guidance counselling in the wake of the ESRI report that showed almost half of young people regretted their college or career choices.

The Teachers Union of Ireland said the report made clear the damaging effect of the 2012 cuts which have forced schools to include guidance counsellors as part of their overall staffing allocation. Many counsellors spend up to half their week teaching mainstream subjects instead of being available for one-to-one counselling or academic support.

TUI president Gerry Quinn said: “Of great concern in this report are the issues raised regarding constraints on time for guidance counselling, particularly for more personalised, one-to-one discussion.