Lok Sabha Question No. 1860 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-03-14
Subject: Mental Health of Sudents
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Parvesh Sahib Singh, Arvind Ganpat Sawant

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1860 TO BE ANSWERED ON 14.03.2022

## Mental Health of Students

## 1860.   SHRI PARVESH SAHIB SINGH VERMA: SHRI ARVIND GANPAT SAWANT:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

(a)  whether  the  Government  has  undertaken  research  to  assess  the  situation  of  stress  and depression  among  the  students,  both  in  schools  and  universities  and  if  so,  the  details  thereof, State-wise;

(b) if not, the reasons therefor;

(c) whether there are any studies done by the Government to compare the mental health status of students in the country and those from other countries and if so, the details thereof;

(d)  whether  there  is  a  resolution  in  the  pipelines  to  tackle  stress  and  depression  among  the students,  which  can  help  accommodate  students'  mental  health  needs  in  various  streams  of education and if so, the details thereof and the plan prepared in this regard;

(e) the details about the performance of the Central Mental Health Authority during the last three years;

(f)  whether  the  Government  has  issued  guidelines  to  States  concerning  inclusion  of  mental healthcare in schools and if so, the details thereof and if not the reasons therefor; and

(g) whether the Government proposes to include mental health in school curriculum to reduce stigma attached to mental health problems and if so, the details thereof  including the time by when the same is likely to be done?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SMT. ANNPURNA DEVI)

(a) & (b): The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare have informed that as per the National Mental  Health  Survey,  2016,  the  prevalence  of  mental  disorders  in  adults  over  the  age  of  18 years is  about  10.6%.   The  prevalence  of  mental  disorders  in  the  age  group  of  13-17  years  is 7.3%.

(c): No, Sir.

(d)    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 during the COVID outbreak and beyond. A Working Group, having experts from the fields of education, mental health and psychosocial issues  as  its  members,  has  been  set  up  to  monitor  and  promote  the  mental  health  issues  and concerns  of  students  and  to  facilitate  providing  of  support  to  address  the  mental  health  and psychosocial aspects during and after COVID-19, through counselling services, online resources and helpline.

Under the Manodarpan initiative a Web page (URL:  http://manodarpan.education.gov.in  ) has been  created on    the  Ministry  of  Education  website  carrying  advisory  guidelines,  Frequently Asked  Questions (FAQs),  Practical tips, posters, videos, do's and don'ts for students, teachers/faculty  and  families  for  psychosocial  support  have  been  uploaded  on  the  Web-page. Handbook on Mental Health & Wellbeing- A perspective; Handbook on 21 st  century skills for school  students  and  a  national  level  directory  of  counsellors  have  been  uploaded  on  the Manodarpan web page. A national level directory of counselors has also been uploaded on the webpage. Regular Webinars are organized under the aegis of Manodarpan on   mental health and wellbeing of children

A  National  Toll-free  Helpline  ( 8448440632 )  for  a  country-wide  outreach  to  students  from schools, colleges and universities to provide them tele-counselling to address their mental health and psychosocial issues during and after the COVID-19 situation has been set up.  The National Toll-free  helpline  has  been  functional  since  21 st July,  2020.  Tele-counselling  has  so  far  been provided to more than 19800 callers since the launch of the toll-free helpline.

NCERT has started 'NCERT Counselling Services for School Children' in April, 2020 to help school students across the country share their concerns.  This service is provided free of charge by about 270 counsellors across different regions of the country.   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.  To handle stress and anxiety, recorded videos on Yoga are telecast through 12 DTH TV channels with effect from 1 st September, 2020 from Classes 1 to 12 and also digital resources are made available in digital platforms, i.e., DIKSHA.

Under  the  aegis  of  the  School  Health  Programme  under  Ayushman  Bharat,  NCERT  has developed  a  comprehensive  package  titled  'Training  and  Resource  Material:  Health  and Wellness of School-going Children'. A specific module has been included on 'Emotional Wellbeing  and  Mental Health', which has activities related to the mental health and well-being of students and teachers.

The  Central  Board  of  Secondary  Education  (CBSE)  provides  pre  and  post  examination  telecounselling facilities through centralized toll-free helpline. Due to the corona pandemic, CBSE started an additional Toll-Free Tele Helpline on CORONA VIRUS safeguards for students. The Board  has  published  material  on  how  to  be  stress  free.  Audio-visual  presentations  on  issues affecting mental health during this crisis were made available on official YouTube and Facebook handles of CBSE.

Further,  to  address  the  burden  of  mental  disorders,  the  Government  of  India  is  supporting implementation of the District Mental Health Programme (DMHP) under the National Mental Health Programme in 704 districts of the country for detection, management and treatment of mental disorders/ illness with the major components of counselling in schools and colleges, work place  stress  management,  life  skills  training,  suicide  prevention  services  and  Information, Education  and  Communication  (IEC)  activities  for  generation  of  awareness  and  removal  of stigma associated with Mental Illness.

(e)  The  Government  has  constituted  the  Central  Mental  Health  Authority  (CMHA)  under  the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017. Central Mental Health Authority & State Mental Health Authority (SMHA) are meant for regulation & co-ordination of mental health services under the central & state governments respectively. 28 states have established the SMHA, 16 states have established State Mental Health Review Boards and 18 states have created State Mental Health Fund. Four meetings of the CMHA have already been held.

(f)  Education being a subject in the Concurrent list of the Constitution and majority of schools are  under  the  jurisdiction  of  State/Union  Territory  (UT)Governments,  it  is  for  the  respective State/UT Government to take appropriate action to include mental healthcare in their schools.

(g)  As  per  the  perspectives  of  the  NEP  2020,  NCERT  has  initiated  the  development  of  four National Curriculum Frameworks, viz, in the area of School Education, Early Childhood Care and  Education,  Teacher  Education  and  Adult  Education.  In  view  of  providing  inputs  to  these curriculum  frameworks,  25  National  Focus  Groups  have  been  constituted.  Among  these  two Focus Groups- Health and well-being, yoga, sports and fitness and also guidance and counselling cover the social, emotional and mental health.

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