STUDENTS’ NEED FOR, AWARENESS, PERCEPTION AND USE OF GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING SERVICES IN FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE, ABEOKUTA, NIGERIA

This research investigated students' needs, awareness, perception and use of Guidance and Counselling Services (G&CS) in Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB). Simple random sampling technique was used to sample 283 respondents across the ten (10) colleges in the institution. Data were collected with the aid of questionnaire and analysed using descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentages, and mean. The questionnaire was subjected to a pilot study that revealed psychometric properties of Cronbach's Apha 0.86. Result revealed that 91.1% of the respondents were aware of G&CS and 74.6% of the respondents currently using the services indicated that it was very helpful. The rating of the counselling needs of the respondents revealed that academic issues with a mean of 3.62 ranked first, and exam pressure management had a mean of 3.51 ranked second. Furthermore, the rating of the perception of students on the quality and effectiveness of G&CS indicated that organized orientation services for fresh students ranked first (mean = 2.55), while effective counselling on personal, social, academic and vocational challenges ranked second (mean = 2.49). The study concluded that the G&CS needs of the students across the colleges differ due to the dissimilarities in their disciplines across the University. The G&CS was assisting students to attain competencies needed to overcome academic, career and personal concerns. The fresher's orientation service received the highest perception (mean = 2.55) among respondents on the quality and effectiveness of G&CS in the institution.