 "Amid rising suicides, NITI Aayog plans healthcare programme for children")
The NITI Aayog is planning to set a comprehensive school healthcare programme amid the increasing number of suicide cases among students across the country.
The programme, for both government and private schools, will focus on policy interventions for mental health promotion, prevention and interventions to school children and will aim to strengthen the existing health promotion and disease prevention measures under the Ayushman Bharat scheme, according to a report in The Economic Times (ET).
An official said, "Mental health is completely missing from the school health programme. Hence, we are drawing up a comprehensive plan that will focus on the mental well-being of children as well at the school level."
Under the programme, students will be taught preventive and remedial measures to help them cope with stress.
The NITI Aayog is holding talks with stakeholders, including the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Women and Child Development, to help develop the programme more holistically and comprehensively, according to the ET report.
Under V K Paul, member (health), the NITI Aayog conducted a national conference on school health programmes last month.
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The conference was attended by officials of the World Health Organisation (WHO), the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), and states and non-governmental organisations.
In India, just one professional is available for every 100,000 people, and the cost of counselling or psychiatric consultations is very high, making it difficult for students to avail of these services.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 'Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India' report, over 13,000 students died in India, at more than 35 deaths per day.
In 2018, the government launched the school health programme under the Ayushman Bharat scheme.