Help at hand: BMC to get counsellors for its students

To provide professional help to tackle anxiety and depression

MUMBAI: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) plans to soon appoint psychological counsellors at its 1,187 schools, to help students tackle anxiety, depression and substance abuse.

Mahesh Palkar, education officer of the civic body, said, “We had detailed discussions with the authorities and are in the process of creating a draft for the project. With constant stress, we felt there was an urgent need to address psychological issues our students might be facing.”

The project is the brainchild of Sainath Durge, education committee member from Shiv Sena, who put up the demand, in a meeting held on Thursday. “During a recent oral health camp organised by dentist Sandesh Mayekar through his NGO, it was found that some students are addicted to gutkha and tobacco. It was then that I realised the urgent need to have counsellor who can address these issues in an effective manner,” said Durge.

There are 2.96 lakh students studying in 1,187 municipal schools across Mumbai. Yet the number of teachers is 10,894, with a ratio of one teacher for 27 students. “Most of these students come from economically weaker sections of the society where stress, depression substance abuse and domestic violence are common. If we can appoint enough counsellors to ensure every students gets personal psychological support, it could help.

Looking at the BMC’S education department’s budget of ₹2,570 crore, there shouldn’t be any financial hurdles,” Durge said. Palkar said the department is yet to decide on how many counsellors will be roped in.

Dr Sagar Mundada, psychiatrist and president of Indian Medical Association Youth wing, said the move is welcome and muchneeded. “To make the project more effective, the schools can be allotted a municipal hospital, where secondary level psychiatry care can be given to children who need it,” said Mundada.