Implementation of Universal Basic Education Programme in Lagos State Schools: Counsellors' and Teachers' Perceptions

Nigeria having realized the effectiveness of education as a powerful instrument for national development inaugurated Universal Basic Education (UBE) in with some specific goals and objectives which require all stakeholders including counsellors to play their parts in its implementation.  This study was therefore a 3x2 factorial survey design to appraise perceptions of counsellors and teachers on the quality implementation of Universal Basic Education programme in Lagos State schools. Two hundred (200) counsellors and teachers were randomly selected for this study in Lagos Primary and Junior Secondary Schools. The research instrument for data collection was a self-developed questionnaire titled “Counsellors and Teachers Perception of Universal Basic Education Scale” (COTPUBES).The instrument was validated in terms of its content and construct while its reliability was established after analysis at 0.74 level of correlation coefficient using Cronbach’s alpha method through the single method of administration. Three hypotheses were postulated to guide the study. The data collected were analysed using mean(x), Standard Deviation (SD), ANOVA, Chi-square and t-test. Based on the findings of this study, it was concluded that counsellors are the backbone of any educational programme. Therefore, the usage of their skills through guidance services at all levels to enhance quality of education cannot be over emphasized. It was also suggested among other things that encouraging professional development, in-service-training, motivation and mentoring counsellors will make counsellors to perform more in providing support services for UBE to be more effective.