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The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about many changes to the society, which will have long-term effects on the young and adolescents. School counsellors have already sealed their position as a significant part of the education ecosystem. Equipped with school counselling techniques, counsellors are endowed with guiding learners through school safely and confidently, and also to prepare them for a world outside school. Now, with the ongoing pandemic situation, several school counsellors have become the liaison and comforters-in-chief not just to students, but to parents and school staffs as well.
 

Faced with an indefinite school year (to be precise, it’s more than a year now), currently counsellors are striving to carry out their responsibilities amidst massive changes to how education is delivered. However, when school budgets will be slashed as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic, counsellor resources will bear the brunt of it and will be lost at a time when they are more important than ever. It’s high time we think about the ways to stimulate our economy and workforce from the ground up. Guess from where to begin? School counsellors.
 

School counsellors are no less than educators and are vital in supporting global young population as they move through and ahead in their academic journey, but the reach to this kind of support is not only wildly unjust but unbalanced and has serious consequences on the accessibility of post-secondary planning. While the American School Counsellor Association (ASCA) recommends a ratio of 250 students per counsellor, research suggests the average is 430 learners to 1 counsellor.
 

School Counselling and COVID-19
 

Across the globe, counsellors are trying to evolve ways to support learners during the times of remote and hybrid learning. E.g., in New Hampshire, local institutes have been emphasising social-emotional learning (SEL), particularly in the elementary grades. Similarly, in Arizona, a state with one of the highest counsellor-to-student ratios, has made tech tools to be crucial, and allowances are aiding schools in hiring more counsellors.
 

During the ongoing and unprecedented times, funding for the purpose of school counselling is becoming a major concern, as institutes are facing changing economic situations. E.g., in California, teachers are pushing for more services for learners, but are running into budget concerns.
 

And while some regions in California are not facing substantial cuts, an uncertain economy makes it difficult to plan ahead.
 

Read this: Carolyn Jones, “Schools want to hire more counsellors amid budget woes” EdSource
 

Supporting learners
 

Concerns regarding various mental health issues, long-term effects of illness, isolation, lockdowns, and sudden change, are major problems for counsellors. From support groups for immunocompromised individuals to virtual ‘relaxation rooms’, counsellors at schools and colleges are looking for ways to connect even from a distance. And while schools across the globe are grappling with re-opening safely, counsellors are working towards promoting sound social health as well.
 

If counsellors, who have gone through courses for child counselling, can be the kind of people that lead within the school environment with insights into what to do, how to respond, how to make learners feel important, if they can take on that role as a leader and everyone else can vie with that, then that’ll be a good head start for the learners, and that’ll be a good environment for them to be in.
 

Lasting Effects
 

The post-pandemic moment in education is likely to have a lasting effect with time. This will act as a sign that proves counselling services are more important than ever in education. In Forbes, education writer Brennan Barnard has made a statement that says - an investment in counselling now is a long-term investment in society.
 

Due to social isolation and adverse childhood experiences, there are rising concerns of suicides, technology addiction, and school safety as institutes struggle to shift back to normalcy in the months to come. This state of emergency will need coordinated efforts to assist learners to not only be back on track academically but also in helping them cope with the trauma they have and are to experience continually. Consequentially, insights from school counsellors can provide a deeper understanding of the social and emotional aftermaths of COVID-19 by working together with administrators to focus on the same.