In a bid to proffer solution to mental health issues among students as well as educators, the Nigerian Senate has called for the inclusion of mental health studies in the educational curriculum of the nation.
Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Senator Ipalibo Harry Banigo stated this in Abuja on Monday during a Mental Health Empowerment Initiative ( MHEI) programme.
Still serving as Grand Patron of MHEI and the Association of Mental Health Reforms Organizations in Africa, Banigo explained the existing relationship between mental health, discipline, and academic performance.
“ Education is more than the pursuit of grades ; it is the shaping of character , values, and vision. Yet we can not expect excellence from a mind burdened by anxiety, depression, fear or hopelessness “, she stated.
She emphasized the alarming rate of academic exhaustion, intake of substance, and strain among students and instructors. She stated that such situations are handled with levity and often waved off and addressed as “spiritual issues,” leading some persons to permanently remain a shadow of themselves.
“We may move from silence to action, from stigma to support. The school environment must become a place not only for intellectual development but for psychological safety and emotional growth,” she added.
Banigo restated the Senate Committee’s commitment to ensuring that students in the country thrive mentally and academically while highlighting steps aimed at achieving this goal.
She emphasized the need to work at length with the Ministry of Education as well as the Ministry of Health to the inclusion of mental health education into schools curriculum, equip teachers and school counselors with skills in emotional intelligence and crisis response.
“ We must also establish mental health desks in schools and tertiary institutions, empower parents through community based mental health awareness and invest in credible local research and youth centered data to drive evidence based decisions that strengthen education, mental well being and national development,” she said.
The event held by MHEI , involved the flagship of two activities which included a National Students – Parents – Teachers Roundtable in Abuja and a continental Webinar hosted under AMHROA, whose aim was focused on bridging the gap between education and mental health reforms.
The National roundtable, hosted at the Federal Ministry of Education Secretariat, gathered more than 120 participants, comprising students from five secondary schools, parents , teachers, education authorities and NGO representatives to deliberate on ways to enhance mental wellbeing within schools.
The webinar , which also drew 54 participants from 14 African nations, such as Nigeria, Kenya,Ghana, South Africa, and Uganda , broadened the conversation to focus on educational reforms.
