‘Govt. working on making mental health part of school education system’

The Andhra Pradesh government has taken a proactive step towards integrating mental health and career guidance into the school education system, marking a new beginning in holistic education, said M.R. Prasanna Kumar, Assistant State Project Director, Samagra Shiksha.

He was speaking at a seven-day residential training programme, inaugurated at Maris Stella College in Vijayawada on Monday, for the Project Management Unit (PMU) and District Counsellors under the Mental Health and Career Guidance Project. The programme is being jointly organised by Samagra Shiksha, EdCIL and UNICEF.

Mr. Prasanna Kumar also highlighted the State government’s commitment to nurturing the emotional and career growth of students. He said that 255 mental health counsellors have already been appointed across the State, and the department is planning to recruit one counsellor per mandal totalling 679 counsellors soon. Strengthening systems for mental health and career guidance among students is a key goal of Samagra Shiksha, which he described as a milestone initiative in Andhra Pradesh’s educational sector.

M.V. Krishna Reddy, Director, State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), said trained counsellors should ensure continuous support to address the behavioural changes seen among adolescents. He also stressed that students from classes 9 to 12 go through a critical phase, where proper career guidance and emotional mentoring are essential to help them focus on their strengths and make informed life choices.

Indla Ramasubba Reddy, senior psychiatrist and director, Indlas Hospitals, observed that today’s youth are facing multiple emotional and behavioural challenges such as relationship stress, failures in love, addictions, and anxiety. He explained that these are not merely disciplinary issues, but reflections of deep psychological and social changes influenced by media exposure, peer pressure and digital dependency.

He underlined the importance of professional counselling, stating that while parents and elders may offer affectionate advice, lack of professional guidance can lead to guilt or rebellion among adolescents.

B. Ashok Kumar, Research Scholar, NIMHANS, consultants from UNICEF, representatives from Leadership for Equity and MHITR founder R.S.V.N. Sharma and others were present.