The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has issued a guidelines to identify mental health problems in students following a mental health survey among school children.
Key points of survey
- The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) had earlier released a report on the mental health survey of students in Classes 6 to 12.
- As per the findings, 29 percent of students lack concentration, while 43 percent have mood swings.
- The survey also found that 81 percent of students suffer from anxiety caused by studies, exams, and results.
- The Manodarpan Cell of the NCERT conducted the survey involving over 3.79 lakh students from 36 states and UTs. Of the total participants, 1,58,581 students were from the middle school level (6-8 class), while 2,21,261 were from the secondary level (9-12 class) from both private and government schools.
Salient features of guidelines
- The guidelines titled “Early identification and intervention for mental health problems in school going children and adolescents” advocate setting up of a mental health advisory panel, school based mental health programme and pedagogical support to ensure mental well-being of students.
- Every school or groups of schools should establish a mental health advisory panel. It should be chaired by the principal and have teachers, parents, students and alumni as members.
- The schools should have a provision for identifying behaviour, substance use and self-harm, depression, and developmental concerns, provide first aid and make appropriate referrals.
- NCERT has recommended that apart from families and parents, teachers need to be informed about early flag signs as they too are the primary caregivers.
Manodarpan and Sahyog
- The Ministry of Education has undertaken a proactive initiative, named, ‘Manodarpan’, covering a wide range of activities to provide psychosocial support to students, teachers and families for Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing.
- Live interactive sessions on ‘SAHYOG: Guidance for Mental Wellbeing of Children’ are telecast on 12 PM eVidya DTH-TV channels for classes 1 to 12.
