THE NECESSITY OF IMPLEMENTING FORMAL COUNSELLING SESSIONS AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN IRINGA, TANZANIA

This study sought to examine the students’ knowledge about formal counselling and issues needed to be addressed during the sessions; and determine whether implementation of formal counselling is beneficial among university students in Iringa, Tanzania. Descriptive research design and questionnaires were integrated to collect quantitative data from 292 university students, who were obtained through simple random sampling. The obtained data were then descriptively analysed using SPSS IBM Version 20 and presented in tables. The study found that formal counselling sessions need to be conducted in order to address students’ cultural and gender issues, financial and economic issues, family and relationship issues, career goals and plans, and sexual health issues. It also found that formal counselling sessions assist students to resolve psychological disorders, acquire information about their gender roles and restrictions, be able to deal with relationship pressures, cultivate self-images, sharpen skills and abilities, and influence their academic achievement and career maturity. Therefore, it is concluded that formal counselling sessions should be implemented in universities so as to support students to find psychological interventions, boost their self-esteems, enrich their career paths and present themselves in acceptable manners. It is also recommended that universities should establish psychology labs or counselling facilities, employ trained therapists and encourage their students to seek counselling services, so that they may get support and solutions over their encountered distressing issues