Union Education and Skill Development Minister Dharmendra Pradhan chaired a high level meeting that reviewed mental wellness of students in Indian schools and higher education institutions. The review meeting discussed subjects related to gender equality, caste sensitivity, easing of academic pressure, robust counselling system among others. Dharmendra Pradhan instructed officials to set up an effective grievance redressal system. The meeting was attended by Minister of State for Education Subhas Sarkar and senior officials fromm school and higher education department, CENTRAL Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and University Grants Commission (UGC).
Education Ministry is preparing a framework of operational guidelines covering school to higher education institutions. The framework will institutionalize safeguards and mechanisms that would help ensure protection to students from threat or assault – physical, social, discriminatory, cultural, and linguistic; causing psychological distress leading to self-harming/self-destructive tendencies among the students.
The framework will also focus on creating inclusive, integrative and non-discriminatory environment; programmes for faculty members for sensitization and capacity building; orientation, counselling and hand holding mechanisms; early detection mechanisms for immediate intervention; promote close-knit student-faculty interactive communities; incorporate team activities in curricular exercises; effective and speedy grievance redressal mechanisms; physical fitness provisions and programmes; emphasis on nutrition; personal involvement and monitoring by heads of institutions, faculty and parents.
