NOTING that concern for mental health is a pressing public health issue, the Department of Education shared its significance in ensuring the health and well-being of both DepEd personnel and learners, in partnership with various agencies and organizations.
“For the past years, the Department of Education has implemented programs, passed policies and conducted activities related to the promotion of mental health. These include the conduct of trainings on mental health and psychosocial support, and the issuance of policies as complex as child protection and addressing bullying, and even as simple as unloading children of homework during weekends,” DepEd Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Service and Alternative Learning System GH Ambat said.
“Moreover, concepts on mental health have always been incorporated in basic education curricula, especially in health and values education subjects,” she added.
To provide a venue to discuss recent researches, updates, initiatives, issues, and concerns related to mental health, especially in the school context, the DepEd, through its Bureau of Learner Support Services-School Health Division (BLSS-SHD), spearheaded the first National School Mental Health Forum on October 23 and 24 at the Millenia Suites in Pasig City.
The forum gathered health personnel, teachers, guidance counselors, and other nonteaching personnel from the Central, Regional, and Division Offices, and public schools, as well as external partners, to showcase programs and research studies related to school mental health.
The forum was the first step to harmonizing and strengthening these efforts to ensure their impact to the overall health of the learners.
“One cannot overemphasize how our learners’ health is key to helping us realize our vision for them. As emphasized in this forum: There is no health when there is no mental health,” BLSS Director Rizalino Jose Rosales said.
The BLSS-SHD, in coordination with the BLSS-Youth Formation Division, and in partnership with the Youth for Mental Health Inc., also conducted a workshop on October 9 to engage children and youth on matters connected to school mental health.
In line with the theme “Young People and Mental Health in a Changing World,” of the World Mental Health Day celebrated on October 10, the workshop was participated by learners and their respective teachers and guidance counselors from Oranbo Elementary School, Pineda Elementary School Rizal High School and Kapitolyo High School.
The two-day forum also served as a strategic platform for education stakeholders to provide inputs to the implementing rules and regulations of the recently enacted Republic Act (RA) 11036, or the Mental Health Act, as it included a consultation facilitated by the Secretariat of the IRR Task Force created by the Department of Health. In consonance with the said law and its IRR, the DepEd shall issue a comprehensive school mental-health policy.
As stated in the said RA, the duties and responsibilities of the DepEd are the following: Integrate age-appropriate content pertaining to mental health into the curriculum at all educational levels both in public and private institutions; develop guidelines and standards on age-appropriate and evidence-based mental-health programs both in public and private institutions; pursue strategies that promote the realization of mental health and well-being in educational institutions; and ensure that mental health promotions in public and private educational institutions shall be adequately complemented with qualified mental-health professionals.
“I am glad to announce that ahead of the issuance of the IRR of the mental-health law soon, the DepEd has already commenced its process of crafting its comprehensive policy through this forum,” Ambat said.
Early this year, the Department also launched the Oplan Kalusugan (OK) sa DepEd, which is a convergence of its health and nutrition initiatives to ensure their impact, especially at the school level. As soon as the RA 11036 was passed, the DepEd made sure that mental health would be one of the flagship programs under OK sa DepEd.
Additionally, Ambat iterated the DepEd’s call for more guidance counselors in schools. The DepEd, under the direction and instruction of Secretary Leonor M. Briones, has improved the qualification standards for guidance counselors and is continuously pushing to increase their salary.
“This forum is just the beginning. Year after year, we shall look forward to a forum where we will sit down and discuss our efforts, our learning and our successes in promoting school mental health,” Ambat said.
The DepEd observes National Mental Health Week every second week of October, as stipulated in the Presidential Proclamation 452, Series of 1994. Through the DepEd Memorandum 148, Series of 2018, all offices and schools were enjoined to administer activities for employees, learners, parents, and other concerned stakeholders to promote mental health and raise awareness on related issues.