FOMWAN Advocates Guidance and Counselling as Key to Enhancing Education Quality
FOMWAN has advocated for the use of guidance and counselling as a vital pillar that serves as a catalyst for enhancing the quality of education and promoting sustainable development.
This, was affirmed at the 23rd Annual National Education “Summit with the theme : Improving the quality of Education and Achievements through Guidance and Counselling ” held today in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti state capital.
The affirmation , they argued would significantly boost students’ achievements across academic and social domains, within the available human and material resources.
Delivering a keynote address on the theme, the keynote speaker, Prof. Fatai Adebowale, described education as a means of acquiring knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes needed for success in life through various channels such as teaching, training, research, or self-learning.
He said guidance and counselling also contribute to improving education quality by fostering a positive and supportive learning environment, which promotes a school culture that values respect, empathy, and inclusivity.
Counsellors, he said, help students identify their strengths, weaknesses, interests, and values. He added that when students have a clearer understanding of their abilities and aspirations, they are more motivated to set realistic goals and take ownership of their learning.
In a message, the FOMWAN National Amirah, Hajia Rafiat Sanni, affirmed that the association has invested effort and resources into strengthening educational standards and access across the country for over four decades.
This is evident in the establishment of schools and the organisation of state-wide conferences and workshops aimed at contributing meaningfully to the intellectual, moral, and spiritual growth of the Ummah.
“This summit in Ekiti is a continuation of that vision—a reflection of our belief that education must be holistic, nurturing both intellect and character. It is through sound values, practical knowledge, and responsible guidance that we prepare the younger generation to take their place in society with clarity and purpose,” she affirmed.
The association, she further noted, recognises the unique challenges today’s youth face and the urgency of equipping them not only with knowledge but also with the skills and direction they need to thrive in a fast-changing world.
The Chairperson of FOMWAN’s Board of Trustees, Alhaja Lateefat Okunnu, in a message described the theme of the 2025 Education Summit as timely, providing numerous opportunities for engagement with the government on education matters.
“It also offers an opportunity to evaluate FOMWAN’s performance over the past 40 years.”
She stated that the summit would enable FOMWAN to collaborate fully with the government in achieving the goals of education.
She also disclosed that the association is working on anti-drug outreach programmes with schools, designed to galvanise the potential of advocacy skills against the use of narcotics and drug abuse by adolescent pupils.
She said the goal is to mobilise adolescent school children into becoming crusaders against the use of narcotics and its numerous consequential anti-social behaviours among their peers and within their families.
The association, she added, has established a relationship with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to develop vibrant school programmes as part of their activities as government agents.
“We believe that this approach will help bridge the gap created by the shortage of trained school counsellors. The long-term solution, however, is a policy aimed at the mass training of school counsellors to facilitate the achievement of the 12-year plan and other educational programmes,” she stated.
Addressing the participants, the Chairman of the event, Alhaji Kazeem Babatunde Oladele, said expectations can only be achieved if women give their total submission to the will of God and to their husbands.
He urged them to properly take care of their children in order to improve their educational outcomes.
Earlier, in her welcome speech, the Chairperson of the FOMWAN National Education Committee, Prof. Lateefat Durosinmi, said the summit is one of the strategies to sensitise and mobilise the populace to prioritise education, while drawing stakeholders’ attention to the current state of education in communities and the nation at large.
According to her, the importance of education in the socio-economic, political, scientific, and technological advancement of any society remains a key tool for poverty eradication and human development.
Durosinmi, who highlighted several achievements of the association in education and its concern for the girl child, out-of-school children, and the plight of almajiris in the North, advocated for sustainable strategies and action plans to reduce their numbers.
One such approach, she said, is the introduction of sustainable, functional literacy and numeracy activities into madrasa/almajiri schools.
This, she noted, should be accompanied by vocational learning with a focus on skill development.
She further revealed that the theme for this year’s summit is Improving the Quality of Education and Achievements through Guidance and Counselling, with sub-themes including Managing Adolescents’ Anti-Social Behaviour, Guidance on Choosing a Life Career, Modern Trends in Skill Acquisition, and Examining and Discussing the Proposed New 12-Year Education Plan.
