House okays mental health offices in school divisions
The House of Representatives passed on the third and final reading a bill that would create a mental health and well-being office in every school division across the country to address the growing mental health issues of learners and school personnel.
A statement from House Speaker Martin Romualdez said that House Bill (HB) No. 6574, or the Basic Education Mental Health and Well-Being Promotion Act, on Tuesday, Jan. 31, was approved by lawmakers with a vote of 272.
It is now pending deliberations in the Senate.
“House Bill (HB) No. 6574 mandates the hiring and deployment of mental health professionals to public elementary and secondary schools, vocational institutions, and offices in the central, regional, and school division governance levels of the DepEd (Department of Education) within five years,” the statement read.
HB 6574 is a consolidation of proposed measures authored by Reps. Roman Romulo of Pasig City Lone District, Rex Gatchalian of Valenzuela City 1st District and now Social Welfare secretary, Harris Christopher Ongchuan of Northern Samar 2nd District, and Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro 2nd District.
Ongchuan, one of the principal authors of the bill, explained that the passage of this bill complements the recent HB 6416 that established Mental Health Offices in all state universities and colleges.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of not just promoting mental and physical wellness, but also the psychological wellness of our students. This care for our students should be seen in all fronts of our education sector,” the lawmaker said.
He also expressed hope that other bills concerning mental health and well-being, like HB 3582 that seeks to provide mental health centers in every region, would also be tackled.
The bill aims to “promote the emotional, psychological, and mental health well-being of learners and teachers so as to enhance their classroom and learning preparedness, including those learners identified as children in conflict with law, students at risk of dropping out, learnervictims of Violence Against Women and Children, and learners-victims of other related forms of child abuse and criminal acts.”
It also hopes to “remove the emotional, behavioral, and psycho-social barriers to learning so as to enhance the classroom atmosphere in order to achieve a child-friendly, inclusive, safe, and positive learning environment.”
According to Romualdez, the bill would require the creation of sufficient Guidance Counselors and Guidance Services Specialist positions according to minimum standards to be determined by the DepEd and the Department of Health (DOH), in coordination with the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) as this will ensure the efficient implementation of the legislation.
The school’s division-level Mental Health and Well-being Office shall be headed by a qualified Mental Health Professional with the position of Guidance Services Specialist V with a Salary Grade 24.
Under the bill, DepEd will also be mandated to provide sufficient resources for mental health programs and projects designed to maintain and address the mental health and well-being of learners and personnel.
It also provided that mental health professionals would enjoy the rights and privileges provided under the Magna Carta for Public Health Workers, Mental Health Act, and other pertinent laws.
The necessary budget for the implementation of the bill shall be included in the DepEd budget in the annual General Appropriations Act (GAA). (Raymund Antonio)