Mental Health: The Gujarat government has introduced new regulations mandating mental health support mechanisms in secondary and higher secondary schools as part of efforts to address student stress and prevent suicides, including dedicated wellness teams, peer-support systems, and qualified counsellors.
A district-level monitoring committee, headed by the District Collector, will oversee implementation, review complaints and serious incidents, and recommend corrective measures.
The regulations have been framed in accordance with guidelines and directives issued by the Supreme Court on students’ mental health and suicide prevention. The state has also adopted the UMMEED (Understand, Motivate, Manage, Empathise, Empower and Develop) guidelines developed by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) as a reference framework. The team’s functioning will be reviewed annually. The team will also include one teacher each from the secondary and higher secondary sections, a School Management Committee representative, a non-teaching staff member and two student peer leaders, called ‘Mano-Mitra’, representing the two sections, it added. Failure by a school to take timely and appropriate action despite being aware, or reasonably expected to be aware, of a risk situation may be treated as institutional culpability if it is found to have significantly contributed to serious harm, self-harm or a student’s suicide. Disciplinary or legal action may follow under applicable laws.
The provisions, introduced under the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Regulations 1974, will apply to Classes 9 to 12 in schools affiliated with the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB), a state government release said on Sunday. “Under the new rules, every school offering Classes 9 to 12 must constitute a School Wellness Team (SWT) at the beginning of each academic year. The regulations also require schools to provide additional mentoring or counselling during critical periods, including board examinations, result announcements and transitions from Class 8 to 9 and Class 10 to 11.
The school principal will head the team, while a counsellor or designated teacher will serve as its coordinator,” the release said.
