JOTASE 2005 COUNSELLING NEEDS FOR PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS IN . . PORT HARCOURT METROPOLIS Dr. Maxwell D. Eremie Department of Educational Foundations Rivers State University of Science & Technology Port Harcourt And William J. Ubulom Department of Business Education Rivers State University of Science & Technoloqy Port Harcourt Abstract This study investigated counselling needs for primary school pupils with special emphasis on their edt: .etionel, vocational and socia-personal problems. A sample size of fifty (25 male and 25 female) pupils was used for thestudy. The study adopted interview method with the use of an' interview schedule known as Counselling Needs for Primary Pupils Interview Checklist (CNPPIC) for data, collection. The instrument is a four-point Likert-type of scale and was . validated by experts in Educational Measurement and Evaluation and Guidance and Counselling. The.' rttliabilityof the instrument was ascertained with the use of split-half method and a reliability coefficient of Q.76 was obtained, showing that the instrument was adequate. Mean scores were extracted to answer the research question and. Multiple Analysis of Variance was employed to test the three hypotheses. The result of the study revealed non-existence of counselling services at the primary schools investigated to take care of the counselling needs of the pupils in the area$ of their educational. vocational and socia-personal problems. It was further discovered that no significant difference exists between the schools on their counseltinq needs among the school and that no significant difference exists between the counselling needs between male and female pupils. The study also showed that no significant interaction effect exists between the counselling needs among the primary schools and between the male and female pupils. It is advocated that Ministry of Education should ensure that guidance counsellors be posted to all primary schools and that counselling units be estabiished in all the primary schools in the state so as to provide counselling services to the pupils. Re-training programmes should be put in place to assist all engaged primary scnoo! teachers update their knowledge in the role of guidance and counselling services in the school setting. Introduction The advent of Universal Free H1rimary Education (UFPE) in Nigeria in 1976 l made it possible for' children {If different traits or characteristics whether normal or handicapped, gifted or non-gifted or children from different social " I