Page 47 - EducationWorld March 2022

in the Union Budget to purchase Within government there is some
computer tablets for targeted children awareness that the country’s citi-
from bottom-of-pyramid households; zens who have survived the dread
government direction to all corporates Covid-19 pandemic have suffered se-
to allocate their CSR (corporate social vere mental anguish and trauma. In
responsibility) funds to purchase and the Union Budget 2022-23, Union
distribute digital devices to under- finance minister Nirmala Sithara-
privileged children; government man launched a national tele-mental
partnership with India’s prosperous health programme to provide 24x7
IT sector to manufacture cheap digital free counseling and care to people.
gadgets for educational use; develop- The initiative will include a network
ing a digitally integrated ecosystem in of 23 tele-mental health centres of ex-
rural areas with community wireless cellence, with the National Institute
networks and information resource of Mental Health and Neurosciences
centres to provide online education; (NIMHANS) as its nodal centre, and
acceleration of the existing plan to International Institute of Information
provide fibre optic lines of 100 mbps Technology-Bangalore (IIITB) provid-
in all panchayats across the country Dr. Gireesh: mental health priority ing technology support.
under the government’s BharatNet However, educationists believe that
programme; provision of free Inter- has been measured and documented government needs to establish a sepa-
net bandwidth to poor children to ac- in detail over the past two pandemic rate National Child Mental Health and
cess online classes with internet ser- years, the damage to children’s men- Well-being Mission with state-level
vice providers providing cheaper data tal health and well-being hasn’t been chapters. The mandate of this mission,
plans for online education. sufficiently assessed. Three pandemic which should solicit the assistance of
“Government needs to urgently waves and numerous lockdowns later, NGOs and charitable organisations,
prepare a plan to provide technology- quite obviously India’s child mental should be to train teachers and school
enabled learning to children in three health crisis has exacerbated. counselors to address pandemic-
different scenarios — lockdown, hy- Last month Dr. Samir H. Dal- induced anxiety, restore children’s
brid and on-campus learning. For this wai, development behavioural pe- confidence and socialisation and life
to happen, ensuring universal access diatrician at the New Horizons Child skills in order to transition smoothly
to digital devices, Internet and digi- Development Centre, Mumbai, and to in-person schooling.
tal learning platforms is necessary. treasurer of the Indian Academy of “As schools reopen cautiously,
Government needs to urgently create Pediatrics, told EducationWorld that managements and teachers need to
a digital access fund to purchase digi- “millions of children are showing be trained to address and repair the
tal devices and provide Internet con- signs of anxiety, depression, irritabil- mental, psychological and emotional
nectivity to under-privileged children. ity, poor attention span, hyperactivity, damage children have suffered over
Indeed, digital connectivity should be sleep disturbances and post-traumatic the past two years. A National Child
declared a public utility like electric- stress disorder with younger children Mental Health and Well-being Mis-
ity and water supply,” said Nooraine below six years showing regressive sion will enable and facilitate formal
Fazal, co-founder and managing behaviour like clinging to parents, school mental health programmes and
trustee of the highly-ranked Inven- thumbsucking and bedwetting. We training of teachers and counselors. I
ture Academy, Bengaluru, in an in- are facing a grave child mental health am confident that there is no shortage
terview with EducationWorld in Oc- crisis.” (See https://www.education- of NGOs and philanthropic organisa-
tober 2020 and again in October 2021 world.in/declare-2021-22-zero-aca- tions ready to partner with the govern-
(see https://www.educationworld.in/ demic-year/). ment to restore children’s emotional
dear-prime-minister-why-no-pan- and psychological well-being which
demic-package-for-education/). Educationists believe that must take precedence, as it’s the pre-
requisite of academic learning and
10 Launch National Child government needs to success,” says Dr. Kannan Gireesh,
Mental Health & Well-being
establish a separate National
a Chennai-based psychiatrist and
Programme founder of Live Life Education Pvt.
Child Mental Health & Well- Ltd, which has conducted “hundreds
hile the extent of academic being Mission with state of online workshops” for teachers, stu-
Wlearning loss suffered by India’s chapters dents and parents on pandemic emo-
260 million school-going children tional damage issues.

MARCH 2022 EDUCATIONWORLD 47