Chennai: The school education department’s efforts towards the psychological well-being of school students are being stalled due to the non-implementation of the mental health policy introduced three months ago, the lack of qualified counsellors, and irregular tracking of existing mechanisms.There are 45,776 govt and aided schools in Tamil Nadu, and successive govts have introduced various initiatives to ensure children’s psychological well-being. The latest one — the Mental Health Policy for Educational Institutions — introduced by the state health department three months ago has remained only on paper without a govt order.“Take the ‘Thunai’ scheme, for instance, proposed in the policy. It calls for appointing counsellors to all schools. While several private schools have an existing system, govt schools were told to deploy professionals. But three months have passed and not even a govt order is out,” K Balamurugan, president, TN Psychology Association, said.The scheme also proposed the appointment of wellness teams helmed by principals, training for adults and school administrators and weekly visits by counsellors to identify students in distress, none of which have been implemented in schools.An official from the school education department said the scheme has been dropped for now and was unlikely to figure even in the upcoming budget.Meanwhile, school heads say the seriousness given to the existing schemes such as ‘manavar manasu’ (anonymous complaint boxes for students) and extra/co-curricular classes twice a week have have also waned. “Manavar manasu was taken very seriously at the beginning, and chief education officers regularly took stock of the complaints received. Now, problems are resolved at the school level, and no one asks for updates. Inspection of extra-curricular classes doesn’t take place,” the principal of a govt school in Egmore said.Chennai CEO M Kabir admitted to not tracking ‘manavar manasu’ complaints at the district level, but added that students’ mental health is being tracked through initiatives such as career guidance programmes. “The period is held for Classes IX-XII once or twice a month, and students have shared their concerns with the teachers on numerous occasions. The school teachers have been trained to provide appropriate guidance and handle students’ distress,” he added.In contrast, several private schools have a dedicated period for counselling. “We have a ‘life skills’ period. There are three psychologists for primary, middle and high school,” V Haribabu, principal, Maharishi Vidya Mandir, Chetpet, said.Greater Chennai Corporation also appointed 10 counsellors on contract to its high and higher secondary schools in the city last year. “We are looking to raise the number to 17 this year. They will go on weekly visits to all schools in their jurisdiction and hold one-on-one sessions with students,” said GCC educational officer J Vasanthi, adding that they have to report to the respective assistant education officers every week.
