Guidance and counseling are the most prominent parts and tools of education. It is essential in the educational field. With the help of guidance and counseling, teachers can develop students' personal, mental, and emotional skills. Guidance is a process that helps an individual to promote character, mind, and personality and to attain his/her psychological, educational, and personal goals (Shahid, 2004). Counseling is an integral part of guidance in which the counselor helps the student solve the problem, and it is a face-to-face interaction where trained and skillful counselors come to the situation to solve an individual's problem (Ali, 2008; Imran, Sultana, & Ahmed, 2023). Teachers play a vital role in guidance and counseling. The teaching and learning process guidance and counseling are essential for secondary schools. Guidance teaching can guide students on which field is better for their future; counseling teachers know what students should learn and clearly understand their mental and psychological needs (Egbo, 2013).

Since 1960, the role of school counselors has undergone a significant change. There were no school counselors in use prior to the 20th century. Teachers expect to devote a small portion of their class time to assisting students (Hatch& Bowers, 2002). The guidance and counseling program started in Canada and spread out in the United Kingdom. The concept started in the 20th century and existed all over the world. Jesse Davis was the first to introduce the concept of educational guidance services to the school system. In 1907, he appointed the high school's principal; he encouraged the English teachers to use lessons to promote students' careers and develop positive character besides avoiding unnecessary behavioral issues and making strong relationships with students. From 1920 to 1930, public schools acquired guidance and counseling programs to promote the education system in schools. Students need social, personal, mental, emotional, and academic counseling advice as well as counseling (Amat, 2019).

Guidance and counseling is a continuous process for individuals to recognize and develop skills. Counseling and teachers are significant components and focus of a successful guidance program. Its services are necessary in secondary school because guidance and counseling services improve educational programs and teaching processes. The reason is that students can enhance their learning (Solehuddin et al., 2023; Hussain, et al., 2022). The successful educational program runs through guidance and counseling. The counselor sees the problem and then seeks out the reason to solve the problem. The counselor wants to student spend their lives independently. Guidance and counseling are a particular part of education for today's youth. It solves related issues and helps individuals accomplish their goals, and it is a very helpful process for development. Effective counseling is helpful for individual life and removes every kind of distress; schools should organize guidance and counseling programs. According to postmodern approaches, guidance and counseling teachers are totally focused on the problem and its solution and empower capability through students' skills and qualities that can be employed. Guidance is a process where students recognize and understand themselves and their environment (Egbo, 2015).

The role of guidance and counseling students prepare their lives for new challenges. It provides benefits and opportunities for the student to build their career. With the help of guidance and counseling, students can choose better options and learn the proper subject. Borrow1983 observed, "It is the role of guidance and counseling program to provide the students with the necessary information about the course availability and the qualification required for each course."

Now, we talk about guidance and counseling in Pakistan. Researchers have yet to observe a concept of guidance and counseling in the present era. We face many kinds of issues, such as social, behavioral, psychological, etc. There are no proper facilities for counselors, so where the students go to share their problems in Pakistan, especially in Karachi, there needs to be a proper concept of guidance and counseling. However, the main reason is that parents need to focus on their child's future.

? To analyze the views of secondary school teachers about guidance and counseling at the secondary level in Karachi.

? To assess the opinions of secondary school teachers in Karachi on guidance and counseling based on their demographic characteristics at the secondary level.

Research Questions:

1. What are the teachers' perceptions about guidance and counseling at the secondary level in Karachi?

2. What are teachers' perceptions about guidance and counseling from their demographic perspective at the secondary level in Karachi?

Guidance and counseling are essential for students and teachers in all schools. In the modern educational system, school counselors play a significant role. Their advice is beneficial in both academic and practical contexts. These two words have different connotations. Counseling and guiding are two terms with overlapping but distinct meanings. They are inextricably linked and, therefore, impossible to fully separate from one another before assisting students' overall development (Oad, Khan &Khoso, 2020).

In contrast, the latter is frequently aimed at assisting students with problems. It is a continuous process that helps an individual gain better education and discipline and helps in discipline management (Supriyanto et al., 2020; Khan, Hussain & Ahmad, 2023). There should be ongoing comprehensive advice and counseling services to assist students in realizing and maximizing their interests, skills, and potential. Additionally, students study the various options for selecting academic and professional jobs. Initially, issues with young people's careers were the focus of Guidance (Oad&Niazi, 2021).

Guidance and counseling are also available by trained and educated persons because all matters are handled in the presence of trained and educated persons. It also assists an individual in achieving his career-related activities, developing his interest, realizing the issues, encouraging the student to take better options for the future, achieving academic excellence, and gaining appropriate courses of study. Its concern is not only to the problem but is also essential for gifted children (Hussain, Muhiuddin&Oad, 2021; Mulawarman et al., 2020).

School administrators should implement practical guidance and counseling programs as an essential component of schools in order to promote the student educational process. According to Birichi and Rukunga (2022), Guidance and counseling are practices that have been around for a while and have been passed on from generation to generation. According to Jones, it intends to help people decide where they want to go, what they want to do, or how they may best fulfill their purpose. Guidance also helps a person address problems that come up in their life.

Today, the youth generation also needs Guidance and counseling. Many families need to learn about Guidance and counseling because most families are illiterate and unaware of them. That is why teachers do not take an interest in it (Imran, et al., 2023). Most students today are depressed over their job choices. Lack of understanding of current trends and advancements and inability to know one are the clear and straightforward causes. In my experience, children who excel academically may be class valedictorians, but when choosing a job, they frequently fail to choose the best (Essuman, 2007; Imran& Akhtar, 2023).

Guidance prepares students to assist themselves, gain appropriate opportunities, value, and become good members of society. With the help of this program, secondary students develop positive character and image, as well as identification. The term "guidance" is used broadly to describe the activities and services offered by a school to help students develop and carry out suitable plans and make reasonable life adjustments (Rehan, et al., 2022). It is developmental. Guidance is a concept in education that refers to the experiences that help each student recognize, accept, and successfully navigate his or her unique identity (Hafeez, Iqbal, & Imran, 2021). This is in addition to the learner gaining knowledge of the workplace and its inhabitants through experiences. It is an ongoing process of helping the individual to make a better life and create better adjustments to live with satisfaction and benefit to her and society. Although it is not teaching, a teacher can provide Guidance. It is not distinct from education but a crucial curriculum component. More specifically, the primary purpose of Guidance is to evaluate the reason for failure, disturbance in living, and many difficulties with the pupil's progress process (Andra et al., 2023).

Counseling is when the helper shows compassion and concern for the individual, seeking assistance to promote personal development and good transformation through self-awareness. A relationship between a worried person and someone who needs help is referred to counseling. Although more than two persons may occasionally be involved, this relationship is often person-to-person (Keshf&Khanum, 2021). Counseling is a learning process in which a counselor helps a person, or people learn, comprehend who they are and how they fit into it, and be able to make decisions about the right kinds of behaviors that will support them as they advance, mature, and step up in their social, professional, and academic lives (Egbo, 2015). Stated differently, counseling is a transformative process that helps people acquire everything they need to know inside and outside the classroom. Counseling is a dynamic process that may be studied, with factors for the client and the counselor and what happens between them being interrelated and systemic entities (Henkelman& Paulson, 2006; Imran, et al., 2023).

Counseling enables people to come to me as they are, with all their strengths, weaknesses, abilities, and limitations. It is a close relationship between teachers and students, which holds them in high respect. Guidance and counseling are educational techniques that allow all individuals to promote better education. According to Oviogbodu (2015), Guidance can be characterized as various techniques that help a person solve difficulties. The method of Guidance enables each person to assist himself in understanding and making use of his inner potential, creating goals, and solving his development issues from childhood to old age; it is a continuous process that is required; counseling is not distinct from education but a crucial component of the overall education program. Therapy is a part of its services, but it is a goal beyond counseling.

Guidance and counseling on teacher perspective

Resolving student issues reveals parents with little faith in educational systems. Parents must participate in the process of resolving pupils' issues. It anticipates that parental participation will help youngsters quickly transform their negative behaviors into more favorable ones (Thwala et al., 2011; Ahmed, Ahmed&Buriro, 2023). The reality is that parents occasionally reject a student's behavior because they believe they are not acting as their children do at home. This is evident from the numerous parental claims that "my child at home is a good child, always obeying the parents' directions, so it is impossible to disobey the rules." Guidance and counseling professionals need help to work with reality. Students who need to trust their teachers in guidance and counseling impact those services. Students can believe that seeking help and counseling from professors is optional. By helping students better understand who they are and where they are, guidance and counseling teachers contribute to ensuring students' safety (Mohammad, et al., 2024; Rahmat et al., 2020).

Educational Guidance

Educational guidance addresses the issues students encounter while receiving their education in educational institutions. Every aspect of education is related to education. It discusses the curriculum, the teaching method, extracurricular activities, discipline issues with the teacher, and other topics (Aslam, Khan, &Oad, 2021). Students are given educational guidance to comprehend their potential in the various fields of education. Education guidance enables people to make the best decisions by informing them about the various educational opportunities available. When choosing schools, colleges, and extracurricular activities, educational opportunities can be beneficial in guiding students in the right direction (Mielgo-Conde, Seijas-Santos, & Grande-de-Prado, 2021).

Giving students the tools to design an educational plan that considers their interests, talents, and aspirations is the primary aim of educational advice. Additionally, educational guidance aids students in creating effective study habits and acclimating to the college or school setting. Students who receive this kind of guidance can also participate in various educational activities and develop social and leadership skills (Khan, et al., 2021; Phulpoto, Oad& Imran, 2024). The students can monitor their progress with the aid of educational guidance. Educational guidance helps students at the elementary level get off to a good start in their academic careers. At this point, educational counseling aids in preparing students for secondary education in classrooms and assists in identifying the students' unique needs as well as the challenges they face. At the secondary level, educational guidance aids students in understanding the various elements of the school, the various courses available and their implications, and the various career implications of the various subjects to be taught there. Education guidance must assist the student in understanding the range of higher study options available at the tertiary level. Therefore, a dedicated guidance unit is crucial for every college or university (Zahid et al., 2019;(Ahmad, et al., 2024).

This field includes research instrument techniques, population sampling size, sample procedure, design, information collection strategies, and data processing approaches. This study employed a quantitative research strategy to collect data through a survey distributed to teachers employed in public secondary schools located in Korangi, Karachi (Ahmad& Hamid, 2021). The researcher used a survey sample based on questions from the descriptive approach to get the answers regarding the topic under investigation. The degree of awareness of the viewpoints held by public secondary school instructors about guidance and counseling services was ascertained by the researcher. The complete research population consisted of male and female secondary school teachers from the Pakistani district of Korangi Karachi. A random selection of 170 male and female secondary school instructors was conducted within the Korangi district. The primary research tool used in this study to look at educators' opinions about guidance and counseling is a survey research questionnaire with sixteen items. Two hundred questionnaires were distributed to the teachers. They were instructed to carefully read the statements and mark their selection on a five-point Likert scale, where one represents severe disagreement. Five indicate strong agreement, four indicate agreement, three suggest neutrality, and two indicate disagreement. There were two sections to the research project's questionnaire. We considered the teachers' gender, experience, and qualifications in the first section of the poll. In the second section, we asked them about their thoughts on secondary guidance and counseling in Karachi, Pakistan. One hundred seventy responses were obtained; however, a few people chose not to participate in the study. The survey received responses from 85% of the population. Before the data collection, a pilot test was carried out, and the outcomes demonstrated the scale's reliability at 0.705 Crunch's Bach Alpha. Table 1, which may be viewed here, presents the scale's overall dependability.

After the screening procedure, the collected data was put into SPSS version 22 to find the distribution of frequency and percentages. Numerous techniques were used in the data analysis, such as percentage distributions, frequency distributions, and descriptive statistics.

Demographics

The demographic information of the individuals who participated in the research is presented in Table 2, which comprises the various demographics. According to the data presented in the table, 47 percent of male instructors and 53 percent of female teachers participated in this research. Additionally, a respectable proportion of educators (36.4% of them) had more than twenty-one years of experience in the field of education, with the majority of them (51.8% of them) having a doctorate.

The study's findings can be interpreted by considering the demographics of the participants, who were predominantly female secondary school teachers (53%), 51.8% of whom held graduate degrees, and 36.4% of whom had taught for at least 21 years. "What are teachers' perceptions regarding guidance and counseling at the secondary level in the Karachi area?" was the first research question this study attempted to answer. The study's conclusions showed that secondary school teachers had the highest degree of teacher perception regarding the advantages of guiding and counseling at the secondary level (4.537). Research by Ulug, Ozden, and Eryilmaz (2011), Parveen (2018), and Ali et al. (2022) demonstrate the significance of guidance and counseling services in influencing students' behavior and cognitive growth. Guidance and counseling are needed and essential; this is the second-highest category (4.381). According to (Salgong et al., 2016Essuman, 2007; Kabiru, 2020), the need and significance for advice and counseling boost students' enthusiasm for studying in the classroom when provided by secondary school teachers. The third major factor in implementing guidance and counseling services was implementing these services in secondary schools. With a mean score of 4.211, this factor also indicates that students' behavior and interest in studying are significantly impacted by the secondary-level implementation of guidance and counseling services (Odeleye, 2017; Omoniyi, 2016; Getachew, 2020; Rehan, Ali Mankash, 2022). The fourth-place element was the teacher's attitude toward guiding and counseling from the standpoint of secondary school instructors (3.658). This factor mimics secondary school teachers' attitudes toward the impact of guidance and counseling on the health and well-being of their students (Eyo et al., 2010; Amat, 2019). The study cited in this article provides a remark regarding secondary school teachers' assessments of teachers' attitudes toward guidance and counseling (Zahid et al., 2019; Khadim, Arain& Ali, 2023).

In light of the study's conclusions, it is suggested that:

? It is recommended that secondary classroom teachers evaluate the guidance and counseling program. School administration should support teachers in implementing guidance and counseling and provide guidelines to teachers for the application and impact of the program. The reason is that without the administration's support, teachers cannot further the program.

? The teachers should be able to enhance students' knowledge, talent, and interest because it strongly affects their careers.

? School administration should organize seminars for trained teachers and how guidance and counseling should be applied in the classroom because many teachers are not aware of how to understand the needs of individuals.

? By creating a consistent curriculum for the guidance and counseling program, all schools could guarantee that the services provided are more effective due to the enforcement that comes from implementing the programs in the classroom.

? Teachers and administrators in secondary schools should build stronger relationships with parents to involve them all in keeping an eye on the behavior and morals of students.

In light of the study's conclusions, it is suggested that:

? It is recommended that secondary classroom teachers evaluate the guidance and counseling program. School administration should support teachers in implementing guidance and counseling and provide guidelines to teachers for the application and impact of the program. The reason is that without the administration's support, teachers cannot further the program.

? The teachers should be able to enhance students' knowledge, talent, and interest because it strongly affects their careers.

? School administration should organize seminars for trained teachers and how guidance and counseling should be applied in the classroom because many teachers are not aware of how to understand the needs of individuals.

? By creating a consistent curriculum for the guidance and counseling program, all schools could guarantee that the services provided are more effective due to the enforcement that comes from implementing the programs in the classroom.

? Teachers and administrators in secondary schools should build stronger relationships with parents to involve them all in keeping an eye on the behavior and morals of students.