Promoting Mental Health of School Children:Indian Reflections

The school system is viewed as a progressive and proactive institution of society that enables children to learn values and ethics considered important for their overall personal development. Schools, however, can also be stressful places for children who are not top rankers, those with lower self confidence or that belonging to the lower socio economic strata of society and this makes them vulnerable to concerns related to mental health. The surmounting pressure on children to achieve high levels of academic success, the cut throat competition in the schools, the pressure to excel in all arenas is leading to children feeling anxious and depressed and an increase in the number of mental health disorders among school children. Left unidentified and untreated, these can have pervasive and long-term effects on their social, personal and academic performance. The current paper begins with an analysis of the current scenario of Indian school education with respect to how it is impacting the personality development of children through its pedagogy, ethos and overall environment. Focussing on the need to create an enabling and a pro-social learning environment in the school system, the paper recommends few areas for consideration with respect to mental health promotion as part of learning environment in the schools.