Counselling Services: The Albatross of Students with Disabilities in the Pan African University in Ghana
Abstract
Universities set up counselling centres to provide services for students, including those with
disabilities, to mitigate the challenges they encounter while schooling, in order to enhance their
participation in academic work and social life. However, investigation conducted by the
researchers revealed that the Counselling Centre in Pan African University in Ghana has
become an albatross to students with disabilities. This paper describes the factors that have
turned the Counselling Centre into an albatross for students with disabilities in the Pan African
University in Ghana. The purpose of the study was to ascertain whether or not counselling
services in the Pan African University were accessible to students with disabilities. A sample of
18 students with disabilities (six visually impaired, six hearing impaired and six physically
disabled, respectively) was purposefully selected using maximal variation approach. Semistructured
interviews were used to collect data for the study. The researchers adopted thematic
analysis to analyze the data. The results showed that students with disabilities were unable to
access the much needed counselling service provided by the university due to barriers related to
the location of the counselling centre and communication. These barriers adversely impacted on
the students’ moral and academic achievements. The students suggested that the University
should decentralize the counselling services to make the services more accessible. The
researchers recommended that the University should provide in-service training focusing on
issues in disabilities for the professional counsellors in the University.
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