PUTRAJAYA – The Women, Family and Community Development Ministry has set a target ratio of one registered counsellor to every 500 people, said its minister Datuk Seri Rina Harun.
She said as of August 31, the Board of Counsellors recorded a total of 10,136 counsellors or one registered counsellor to every 3,327 people.
“We have seen an urgent need for counselling services within these past few years. We saw how counselling saved people’s lives in the two years that the country was facing the Covid-19 pandemic and in post-Covid-19 times,” she said when launching National Counselling Month here today.
Rina said she believed that the ratio of one counsellor to every 500 people can be achieved even though the country’s population increases every year, adding that the ministry will improve the counsellor registration process and conduct qualification verification sessions through its online platform.
“We will also go down to the ground and organise programmes so that the counsellors can register,” she said, adding that some counsellors did not register after completing their studies as their current jobs do not involve counselling.
According to Rina, about 60% of registered counsellors are in the civil service, schools, as well as public and private educational institutions. – Bernama, October 4, 2022
