Mental health and emotional well-being among school students must be treated as a national priority alongside academic achievement, discipline and physical safety, says Alliance for a Safe Community (Ikatan) chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye. He said recent cases involving students should not be read as isolated incidents, but as a reminder of the need for stronger mental health support in schools, New Straits Times reported.
“Every school must become a safe environment where students feel protected, heard and able to seek help without fear of stigma or punishment,” he said in a statement, adding that while the government has taken steps to strengthen mental health screening, counselling and early intervention, the work must be implemented comprehensively and consistently nationwide.
Lee called for stronger school counselling services, with counsellors relieved of excessive administrative duties and schools given access to qualified psychologists and mental health professionals. He wants regular and confidential screening to catch warning signs including behavioural changes, withdrawal, aggression, declining academic performance, absenteeism, self-harm, anxiety and depression. The same demands for psychologists, referral pathways and multidisciplinary teams in schools were made in an earlier statement on Aug 29, The Star added.
Teachers, he said, are often the first adults to notice a change in a student’s behaviour. “They should be trained to recognise psychological distress, bullying, trauma and self-harm risks, and know how to refer students for appropriate help,” he said. He also wants stronger measures against bullying and cyberbullying, with clear reporting channels, rapid intervention and effective follow-up, and mental health literacy built into education so students develop coping skills, emotional regulation and conflict resolution.
Schools should also keep clear crisis-response and postvention mechanisms to support students, teachers and the wider school community after serious incidents. Lee said recent serious cases highlighted the need for early detection and proper assessment and follow-up for those requiring psychiatric or psychological care: “We must move from a ’wait until something happens’ approach to a ’detect early, intervene early and prevent harm’ approach.” Those standards for staffing, referral, intervention and crisis response were set out in his earlier statement, Bernama noted.
Lee urged the government to establish a School Mental Health and Well-being Framework involving the Education and Health Ministries, counsellors, psychologists, teachers, parents, students and non-governmental organisations. “Mental health is not merely a medical issue. It is a school safety issue, a family issue and a community issue,” he said.
