As per the issued guidelines manual, each school or group of schools should set up a mental health advisory panel. It should be presided over by the Principal and include teachers, parents, students and alumni as members.
Along with studies, now schools will also be conscious about the mental health of the children. NCERT has also issued guidelines for this to all the schools. This includes setting up a mental health advisory panel, school-based mental health programs, and seeking parental help to ensure students’ mental health.
Guidelines for “Early detection and treatment for mental health problems in school-going children and adolescents” have been issued by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) following the Mental Health Survey among school children. In a survey report launched last week, examinations, results and peer pressure were among the major factors of stress and anxiety among school students.
As per the issued guidelines manual, each school or group of schools should set up a mental health advisory panel. It should be presided over by the Principal and include teachers, parents, students and alumni as members. It will create awareness, and also plan and implement an annual school mental health program.
There should be a provision in schools to identify problems related to mental health. First aid should be given by identifying the child’s behavior, substance abuse and self-harm, depression, anxieties. Noting that most of the times mental health issues come to the fore in the early years of life, NCERT has said that parents of children should also be involved in dealing with it.
The guidelines state that teachers should be trained to recognize early signs of loneliness, refusal to attend school, depression, behavioral changes, excessive Internet use, intellectual disabilities and learning disabilities.
