CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1    BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
        The innovative aspect of the new secondary educational programme is the importance attained to guidance services. Every day, every one of us encounters life situations, which call for thought, opinion making, decision making and action. Some of our experiences are familiar, some novel, some are casual, some of extreme importance. Everything we do, every decision we make and course of action we take is based on our held belief, attitude and values. Students do ponder over what and how to thin, believe and behave so often what goes on in the classroom is irrelevant and remove from the red things that are going on students lives, there daily encounter with friends with strangers, with peers, with authority figures, the social and academic tasks that display their egos. The main objectives of guidance, and counselling at this level of educations is to make available psychological process of helping an individuals to achieve self-realization, self-decision, understanding and mental balance necessary to make the maximum adjustment in the school. No doubt a judicious application of guidance and counselling will foster education decisions, which might lead to a better future career. The problem of the students are regards curriculum or choice is akin to the analogy where a client or (students) is regarded as a traveler heating for a predetermined destination. On getting to a cross road he becomes confused, but luckily he find a good Samaritan (helper) who shows him the way. According to him, the Samaritan has performed the task of guidance, if the helper goes further on the requests of the traveler, the helper enumerate the likely problems, hurdles or obstacles to be encountered in the road and possible solutions, he has done the job of a counsellor.
        The student should be seen as a traveler at a cross road who needs the help of a guide. If he is fortunate, he finds solution to his problem, otherwise he gets confused and because frustrated the more. Although school guidance and counselling is an integral part of education obtained in the western world. It is still very new in Nigeria. It has not yet gained prominence because of many factors in Nigeria until recently. As there were changes in education and social systems brought about by urbanization and industrializations. Then many of our educational started to stress the need for guidance services as an integral part of our educational system. In Nigeria, students select their subject of choice in their senior secondary school years. In preparation for the senior secondary certificate examination. The choice of their subjects is solely handled by the students without adequate information about the world of Flanayan. If secondary education is to be relevant to the needs of the students it is essentially that the students be assisted in selecting curricular at an earlier time.