The Association of Professionals in Guidance works to achieve a greater presence of their members in the educational centers of the country, mainly in elementary education.
According to Luis Emilio Paniagua, Secretary of the Association, supported by the Fundamental Education Law, there is a clear need for counselors to work on issues of prevention, support and attention of students from educational institutions.
One of the strongest areas of specialization of counselors is the prevention of a number of risk factors that may affect children and adolescents. Many of the human development processes are more effective if they are done from earlier stages,”
said Paniagua.
As a result of these requirements, the Association appointed a subcommittee to make a specific proposal to the Ministry of Public Education (MEP) through an research work that will show the importance of the professional counselor in educational centers.
In addition, said research, with official data from the Planning Department of MEP indicated that in 2015, the lack of counselors was notorious, since in the country’s 1,245 schools, only 427 professionals work in this area.
The counselor is responsible for addressing, accompanying and promoting different strategies in academic, personal, violence, vocational guidance, affectivity and sexuality, as well as other situations that may be facing students.