"Many Western and European countries have introduced policies and programmes, understanding that learning environments need to be changed to better support mental health of the future generation"

A seventeen year old boy from Dambulla had taken his own life on Tuesday (February 14). His distress over a love affair is suspected to be the reason behind the suicide, initial investigations have revealed. Mental health support is needed for students to minimize self-harm and suicide. Have the Sri Lankan authorities taken this matter seriously and made mental health of students a top priority? Unfortunately no.  

A few months ago, another 15-year-old boy committed suicide after his parents had confiscated his mobile phone due to his addiction to an online video game. Have Sri Lankan parents paid adequate attention to the matter and taken preventive methods to better support mental health of their children? Again, unfortunately no.  

However, many Western and European countries have introduced policies and programmes, understanding that learning environments need to be changed to better support mental health of the future generation. A mental health clinic was launched at a school in the US on Monday (14) to provide students with mental health services. The centre opened inside the school to give students easy access to psychologists, psychiatrists and social workers five days a week, from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. How many Sri Lankan schools have mental health clinics?  

Recently, an analysis report done by the University of Minnesota, USA, emphasized that addressing student and educator mental health is a top concern. There were more than 53,000 respondents to the three surveys from across the US state of Minnesota, and their concerns were clear. “Mental health not only consistently showed up as the most pressing concern of educators, the concern increased over time,” said Katie Pekel, the Principal in Residence at the University of Minnesota.  

Key recommendations of the analysis:  

• Mental health support is needed for students and staff at many levels including prevention and intervention from bullying/harassment, self-harm and suicide.   
• Respondents expressed a strong interest in building positive relationships among students and between students and teachers.  
• Teaching and learning environments need to be changed to better support mental health.   
• Suggestions included more manageable workloads for staff, student engagement opportunities, clearer communication for students, and more doable lessons and assignments.