HRD Ministry launches counselling service for school, college students

NEW DELHI: The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has launched Manodarpan, to provide psychosocial support to students and teachers for their Mental Health and well-being during the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak and beyond.

Union HRD Minister, Ramesh ‘Pokhriyal Nishank’ while launching the website of the pan-India counselling service said: “We all are going through difficult times, but children should not worry, they should approach our toll-free number if they are under stress. We will soon come out of this problem.”

Under Manodarpan, the HRD Ministry has also created a national toll-free helpline number to provide tele-counselling to students from schools, colleges and universities to address their mental health and psychosocial issues.

This helpline shall be managed by a pool of experienced counsellors, psychologists and other mental health professionals and will continue beyond the COVID-19 situation. About 500 experienced counsellors have been enrolled to implement the national helpline, and 100 counsellors have been mapped to commence the first phase for students.”

According to MHRD, Manodarpan will help students become resilient over time with the help of life skills even in the face of challenges and roadblocks in life. Manodarpan has been included in the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, as a part of strengthening human capital and increasing productivity and efficient reform and initiatives for the education sector.

HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal said that the government is working on bringing and online curriculum. “I would like to tell parents who do not have internet facility on their mobile phones, who do not have smartphones, they need not worry we are working on bringing all the education contents to them through 32 channels of Swayam Prabha, through DTH service. We would also utilise services of community radio and reach children who are sitting in the remotest corner of the country,” Pokhriyal said.

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