HRD Ministry: Training Teachers to Combat Students with Depression

It is a disturbing trend amongst teenage students across the globe: depression and suicides are on a steady rise. Teenaged depression can significantly affect the learning abilities and also his/ her ability to connect with their peers. Sadly India has one of the world’s highest suicide rates for youth from the age of 15 to 29 according to a report which calls for immediate intervention to address this serious issue.

There have been several cases of students committing suicide due to poor results in exams. Arjun Bharadwaj, a management student committed suicide jumping out of the 19^th floor room of a five-star hotel in Mumbai. He also discussed his plans and methods to kill him on face book. He isn’t an exception, unfortunately according to a data collated in 2015; every hour one student commits suicide in India. Student suicide in the state of Sikkim is the highest in the country ringing the alarm bells. Kota in Rajasthan is yet another place where suicide is increasingly common.

These statistics underline the importance to tackle this menace at the earliest possible. Teachers are on the frontlines in this battle against student depression, and have the potential to be the most essential part of students support network. This is not an easy task as understanding the many facets of depression, because depression can manifest in many different forms.

To tackle this HRD ministry is consulting various consulting experts and organizations to train the teachers in school, colleges and universities to identify the tell tale signs of depression amongst the students and intervene before it becomes too late. Once the modalities are finalized selected teachers will be sent for training.

By: Madhuchanda Saxena

Content: https://m.timesofindia.com/city/guwahati/hrd-ministry-plans-to-train-teachers-to-tackle-stress-among-students/amp_articleshow/65976228.cms