Union Education and Skill Development Minister Dharmendra Pradhan chaired a high- level review meeting focusing on mental wellness of students and zero tolerance towards discrimination in educational institutions across the country, an official release said. Minister of State for Education Subhas Sarkar and senior officials from school and higher education department, CBSE, AICTE, UGC attended the meeting.
In the meeting Pradhan directed the senior officials to establish an effective grievance redressal system with shared responsibility. The Minister has also asked to invite suggestions from all the stakeholders through online medium. He further touched upon various subjects such as gender equality, caste sensitivity, easing the academic pressure, robust system of counseling, among others, the release said.
“The Ministry of Education is committed to ensure physical, psychological, and emotional well-being of the students.” Pradhan said.
As per the directions of the Minister and to further safeguard the mental and emotional wellbeing of the students, the Ministry is preparing a comprehensive framework of operational guidelines, covering holistically from school to Higher Education Institutions, the release noted.
The Framework will institutionalize safeguards and mechanisms that can ensure comprehensive protection to students from any threat or assault- physical, social, discriminatory, cultural, and linguistic; causing psychological distress leading to self-harming/self-destructive tendencies among students.
It will include the creation of inclusive, integrative and non-discriminatory environment; sensitization and capacity building programmes for faculty members; orientation, counseling and hand holding mechanisms; early detection mechanisms for immediate intervention; promoting close-knit student faculty interactive communities; incorporating team activities within the curricular exercises; effective and speedy grievance redress mechanism; physical fitness provisions and programmes, emphasis on nutrition; personal involvement and monitoring by the Heads of the Institutions, faculty and parents, and more.
