Evaluation of the Role of School Guidance Counsellors in Reducing School Dropout in Sokoto State

School dropout is a persistent challenge in North West Nigeria, and the role of guidance counsellors in identifying and addressing the individual, family, and systemic factors contributing to student disengagement requires documentation for policy development. This study evaluated the contribution of guidance counsellors to dropout reduction in public secondary schools in Sokoto State, North West Nigeria. A mixed-methods design combined a questionnaire survey of 240 students who had been counselled for dropout risk with semi-structured interviews with 12 school guidance counsellors in Sokoto North, Tambuwal, and Bodinga LGAs. Survey data were analysed using descriptive statistics, and interview data were subjected to thematic analysis. Results showed that 69.2 percent of at-risk students who received counselling intervention remained in school through the academic year, compared to a self-reported dropout intention of 61.8 percent before counselling. Counsellors identified poverty, early marriage, academic failure, and family expectations as the primary dropout triggers. However, 58.3 percent of counselled schools had only one counsellor serving more than 1,500 students, significantly limiting service reach. Counsellors reported inadequate training in poverty-related dropout interventions. The study concludes that guidance counsellors play a meaningful but resource-constrained role in dropout prevention and recommends increased counsellor staffing ratios, poverty-sensitive counselling training, and community liaison programming for at-risk students in Sokoto State secondary schools.

Keywords: guidance counsellor, school dropout, Sokoto State, dropout prevention, North West Nigeria