Huge mental health gap in kids since COVID: Child rights panel to govt

Panaji: The Goa State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (GSCPCR) has recommended that the state government create positions for counsellors in all schools to address the “huge mental health gap” that has emerged since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The commission has called for universal coverage of the state’s counselling scheme. Currently, just 85 counsellors cover 295 schools in the scheme implemented by the Goa Educational Development Corporation (GEDC).

Commission chairperson Peter Borges said that since children spend most of their time in school, their problems can be identified, dealt with, and improved through counselling. School students, he said, are of an age that is generally vulnerable, and need a safe space — a neutral and non-judgmental counsellor who understands their feelings and helps them navigate their emotions.

He also flagged the issue of undetected pregnancies in adolescents in school settings. These are ultimately found out about in advanced stages, and are a result of both abuse and romantic relationships, he said.

Borges also said that counselling services should be promoted in schools, and that counsellors should not be a replacement for teachers. He said that the government should issue an advisory recommending that school managements include counsellors in decision-making — a task currently dominated by teachers.

He called for the GEDC to revise the SOP of the scheme to bring in greater clarity of roles for the counsellor, including preventive education and timely reporting of abuse cases, leading to better mental health outcomes, as well as handling of trials of cases as per law.

Listing out a plethora of issues faced by students, Borges said, “Various contemporary psychological problems such as depression, anxiety, school refusal, gaming disorders, relationship problems, conflicts with parents, excessive use of gadgets, insomnia, suicide attempts, substance abuse, and learning and behavioural problems are on the rise in school settings”.

The commission said that the “vaccuum” in children’s lives has been created by changes in lifestyle and upbringing, growth of technology, emergence of nuclear families, and lack of guidance. All this creates a need to be heard in confidence, he said.