(PLO)- It is time for the involvement of all levels of management to make practical decisions in taking care of students’ mental health.
In the past few days, the public can’t help but be shocked when they follow information about the case of a 10th-grade female student at Vinh University’s High School for the Gifted committing suicide at home, suspected of school violence. The heartbreaking incident set off alarm bells for adults about school violence and school mental health issues.
The cause of the suicide of a 10th grade female student at Vinh University’s High School for the Gifted is still being investigated by the authorities. However, the initial information shared by the homeroom teacher, administrators and parents showed that this girl had suffered great mental pressure during her previous school days.
More painfully, I am a good student. Her psychological instability has been partly revealed for a long time with her parents and expressed her wish to teachers and schools that she wants to change classes. However, it was the adults who, for various reasons, did not recognize the serious case of school violence in this situation, accidentally did not give the lifebuoy to the 16-year-old student.
Looking directly at the reality of the past time, the situation of school violence somewhere is still a painful story. Because according to data released by the Ministry of Education and Training in 2022, in a school year, there are nearly 1,600 cases of students fighting inside and outside the school. On average, there is a fight for every 5,200 students… These numbers do not include forms of emotional violence through words, attitudes or online bullying…
With the development of social networks, today’s school violence is not only fighting, but also acts of boycotting, bullying… silently, hard to identify. According to a recent study by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), about 8%-29% of children aged 10-19 in Vietnam suffer from mental health problems in general. Causes related to bullying and social stress, school atmosphere, academic pressure. However, only about 20% of them receive the necessary medical assistance and treatment.
In fact, those startling numbers are not new. From the ministerial, sectoral to local levels, there have been many conferences, seminars and seminars to discuss and find solutions to these problems. But then… go back in there.
Even in Ho Chi Minh City, where nearly 2 million children are going to school, for decades, they have been struggling with the problem of taking care of students’ mental health because “it’s hard to touch anywhere”. It is difficult from the plan to open a psychological counseling room, but once opened, there is no person in charge, no staffing, lack of recruitment sources, too low income…
That troubled story is present in many localities across the country, not just one place. Then when a student commits suicide, the adults are shocked to know the cause through their suicide letters or lamenting messages. If we keep being startled and let it go, I’m afraid that there will be similar heartbreaking cases.
It is time for the involvement of all levels of management to make practical decisions in mental health care of students. These decisions must be imprinted from the heart, the understanding of teachers, from parents, so that every day going to school with the children is really a happy day.
PHAM ANH