A meeting by an interdepartmental committee named “Walk with Love – Working Group Focusing on Youth Spiritual, Physical and Mental Health” was held last week at the Confucius Conference Hall of the Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ) to review the government’s “mental well-being” promotion policies and also to discuss further strategies to support non-tertiary education students in the area of mental health, as part of the preparations for the start of new school year, according to a statement by the Macau Government Information Bureau (GCS) yesterday.
The new school year begins on Friday.
The committee was jointly established in January 2020, by the DSEJ, the Health Bureau (SSM) and the Social Welfare Bureau (IAS), The Chinese Educators Association of Macau, Macau Catholic Schools Association, and Caritas-Life Hope Hotline of Macau. The committee aims to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration between the fields of education, social services, and healthcare on student affairs, the statement said.
According to the statement, the DSEJ has been providing school counsellors this month with various training sessions on social-emotional learning and the creation of a more positive school environment for students. The statement quoted DSEDJ Deputy Director Wong Ka Ki as emphasising the importance of collaboration between schools and parents in order to achieve a deeper understanding of students’ needs. He added that in the new school year, multiple educational activities focusing on parent-child relationships were slated to be launched in local primary and secondary schools.
The committee, according to the statement, agreed to incorporate training on counselling skills, crisis management and stress management into teachers’ compulsory courses on professional development.
Si Nei Na, secretary-general of the General Association of Chinese Students of Macao, said in a statement on behalf of her group that a significant number of local teenagers have been suffering from emotional distress, depression and anxiety. Si also pointed out that local residents’ knowledge of emotional disorders was relatively low. “Adolescence is the phase of gaining independence and developing a sense of self-identity. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the guidance and training in family education, in order to enable parents to provide better emotional support to their children,” she added.
Local education committee discussed measures to support non-tertiary education students in the area of mental health at a meeting last week.
– Photo: GCS
