Government and aided school students to take app-based health survey in coming weeks

Government and aided school students to take app-based health survey in coming weeks

In the coming weeks, teachers in government and aided schools across Tamil Nadu will begin administering a health survey to students of all classes for the 2023-24 academic year. The survey, which has over 30 questions, will seek to collect information about the physical and mental well-being of students. 

“While we have doctors from the nearby public health centres (PHC) come in every year and collect details regarding the health and well-being of students, which is later documented in the education management information system (EMIS) portal, this year, we have been instructed to use the TNSED Schools app,” said a teacher from a government school in Chennai. He said teachers had been trained in the questions to be asked and the specifics to be kept in mind to identify students’ health concerns.

As part of the survey, a set of six questions have been given with regard to mental health that teachers have been asked to administer to students of Classes IX and X. The questions focus on whether the student is withdrawn from their peers, has trouble sleeping at night and feels anxious or stressed.

While there are no full-time counsellors appointed in government schools, a teacher said over the last few years, especially after schools reopened following pandemic-induced closures, they had been promoting the 14417 School Helpline among students to reach out to counsellors.

During the previous academic year, schools were instructed to set aside time for ‘experience sharing’, which would be led by teachers, to focus on students’ mental health and ensure that they engage with their peers and teachers.

Additionally, in the Tamil Nadu Assembly earlier this year, School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi announced that ₹50 lakh had been allocated to ensure that programmes focusing on mental health and well-being and life skills were held for students of Classes IX to XII in government and aided schools.