A lecturer in the Department of Counsellor Education, Faculty of Education, University of Ilorin, Kwara State, Prof. Alfred Adegoke, has urged the federal and state ministries of education as well as local government councils across the country to facilitate the training of expert teachers solely for adolescents.

Speaking during UNILORIN's 99th inaugural lecture on "Adolescent in Africa: The role of context and process in developmental trajectories," in Ilorin on Friday, Adegoke said adolescent was a crucial turning point in life.

He stated that young people need special nurturing and adult guidance to prevent them from involvement in harmful, criminal and violent activities. He observed that many adolescents explore risk-taking behaviours.

According to him, many adolescents in Africa are daily being confronted with pressures to use alcohol, cigarette or other drugs which could make some of them become violent and destructive.

He said adolescents should be constructively engaged to prevent them from injuring themselves or becoming a menace to the society, thus threatening the security of lives and property.

He added that there was a compelling need for the Federal Government to overhaul the position accorded to counselling services in the National Policy on Education.

He said there should be a shift from traditional guidance and counselling to integrating a curriculum of counselling into the total education process for all students in the schools.

Adegoke said, "A fundamental transformation of the education of young adolescents is urgently required on the African continent.

"Most of the teacher education programmes available do not incorporate courses on adolescent development, designed to treat the adolescent transition as a distinct phase requiring special understanding of the changes that adolescents undergo that have a bearing on the learning process in school."

He stated that the school system should be redesigned to re-engage families in the education of young adolescents, adding that schools should offer parents meaningful roles in school governance and decision-making process.

Adekoge said, "Government at all levels should as a matter of urgency endeavour to provide care and protection for all young people irrespective of their health, physical disability, socio-economic status, gender, ethnicity or religious background through a safe and supportive environment created by appropriate legislation, health and counselling services.

"All institutions of society including the family, school, government, the organised private sector, health care sector, non-governmental organisations, community and faith-based organisations and the media must work together to meet the essential requirements for effective child and adolescent development on a continent faced with a lot of daunting challenges."