PALAKKAD: In a significant step towards strengthening mental health support in schools, a pioneering programme titled ManasaMitra is set to be launched across 11 government and aided schools in the Pattambi Legislative Assembly constituency in the upcoming academic year. The initiative, spearheaded by Pattambi MLA Muhammed Muhassin, is poised to become a model for school-based mental health interventions in Kerala.
A total of 16,200 students, 625 teachers and over 13,000 parents will be part of the programme spanning an academic year. “We conducted a youth summit last year where 69% of participants came forward by themselves and requested for mental health interventions, which underscored the critical necessity of this initiative,” the MLA told TNIE.
At its core, ManasaMitra aims to equip teachers with specialised skills to detect and address psychological distress among students. Teachers, often the first responders in the emotional lives of their students, will receive training grounded in evidence-based practices, encompassing suicide prevention, emotional regulation, mindfulness, and stress management. By embedding mental health literacy into the everyday workings of schools, the programme seeks to move away from reactive crisis management and toward a preventive, proactive approach rooted in early intervention, Muhassin added.
“The programme, developed in strategic partnership with the Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (IMHANS), Kozhikode, and sanctioned by SCOLE Kerala, responds to this demand with clinical rigor and educational innovation. Anchored in a school-based mental health ecosystem, the programme seeks to empower teachers as mental health first responders, students as emotionally intelligent individuals, and parents as active allies in their children’s psychological development,” said programme coordinator Ashif KP, academic head PM Institute of Civil Services Examination and lecturer at Farook College, Kozhikode.
In the beginning, the programme will have a module for the teachers spanning six days in which they will be given interactive session on various subjects including understanding mental health in adolescents such as anxiety, depression, and eating disorders; strategies for handling conflicts and promoting inclusive, supportive environments; effective communication strategies to engage parents in their child’s mental health journey; creating collaborative action plans between teachers, parents, and healthcare providers; ensuring continuity of care and support for students outside the school environment.
The programme will empower one-third of the teachers in all the 11 schools to understand the emotional issues and stress a student goes through.
“In the next level, a professional group of 40 psychologists will interact with the teachers, students and parents, understand the issues faced by them and address them clinically. The programme will ensure that a student will get support from his teacher, parents and a well-trained psychologist whenever he/she needs mental support and care,” Ashif added.The teachers module will be conducted in the last week of May, said the organisers.
The programme designers believe that ManasaMitra can be implemented across all constituencies in Kerala, thereby embedding mental health support as a fundamental component of the state’s public education system
