Counselors’ work is to increase student competence, promote understanding and concern within the classroom, and as professionals, care for the holistic well-being of each child.
Marina Raj – Vatican.
Bishop Rex Alarcon has expressed concern that nearly 180 million students are suffering without proper guidance and this is due to the lack of guidance and counselors to counsel the victims.
On Monday, February 20, Bishop Rex Alarcon, Bishop of Daet Diocese and Head of the Youth Task Force of the Asian Synod of Bishops, responded to the Ugandan news saying, “If there were proper guidelines, the number of crimes could have been prevented.”
Citing sources from the Senator Sherwin Gatchalian Child Protection Foundation in the second week of February, Pastor Alarcon said that approximately 1.75 million students have been bullied and that the survey was conducted in 654 schools in January.
Bishop Alarcon also said that in addition to emphasizing basic education, mental health, and health of students, it seeks to strengthen the development of mental health services amid the increasing mental health problems among students and school staff.
“The Department of Education employs only one guidance counselor for every 500 students, which means that as of June 2022, the Philippines has only 4,069 guidance counselors for over 2.7 million students,” Bishop Alarcon said.
Data from Education Department
Bishop Alarcon pointed out that there are 2.74 million primary and secondary school students in the country and it is unfair to assign only one counselor to every 6,733 students. He also emphasized that no counselor wants to work in schools because each one has to counsel at least 6,000 students.
Bishop Alarcon has said that the commission aims to propose a salary increase to hire more guidance counselors in Catholic private schools, noting that more children need psychological support due to the impact of the pandemic.
Pastor Alarcon emphasized that counselors are called upon to listen to each child’s successes and failures, to care for the holistic well-being of each child, as professionals to increase students’ potential and promote understanding and care within the classroom.