DepEd-7: We should help students cope

CEBU, Philippines — Following another suicide incident, officials from the Department of Education in Central Visayas (DepEd-7) underscore the need for schools to strengthen programs that promote mental health for students.

“It is sad to note that cases like these are also happening in our young generation especially with our adolescents. So our role in the education sector is to strengthen our advocacy in helping students on coping up with stressful situations,” said DepEd-7 Administrative Division chief Victor Yntig.

This advice came after a Senior High student jumped off from a Cebu City-based school building on January 4, reportedly after an argument with his girlfriend.

Yntig said students must be trained on how to open up about their feelings and emotions to their parents, relatives, teachers, friends, or any person that they trust.

Yntig said schools officials, through Parent-Teacher Association assemblies, should always remind parents to be observant of their children's behavior at home and to initiate dialogue if they notice something unusual.

He added that these initiatives should also be done by teachers, guidance counselors and other school officials.

He also found it necessary for teacher advisers to establish communication lines with parents for consultation purposes.

Meanwhile, DepEd-7 Director Dr. Julieta Jeruta has directed schools to reconvene their Child Protection Committees which are organized among public schools and private institutions, through their Student Affairs Office and Guidance and Counseling Office.

She said that supported through Republic Act 9155 or Governance of Basic Education Act of 2001, “schools are empowered to formulate policies for child protection.”

Jeruta said these committees are tasked to ensure that schools would be a “safe haven” during the stay of students for the duration of his or her schooling.

Side by side with this, she added, should be the strengthening of the capabilities of the concerned offices to provide interventions for prevention and to take appropriate disciplinary measures on any incident.

Other support systems to further protect the child from suffering and to teach them the ability to cope with the consequences vary from one school to another, Jeruta pointed out.

But in general, she said mental health has been integrated in the school curriculum, particularly under MAPEH (Music, Arts, Physical Education, and Health). There are also added lessons about personality disorders and stress management.

For its part, DepEd-7 intends to continue assisting schools in strengthening guidance programs and to find out whether personnel supposedly in charge of those tasks have acted with appropriate interventions.

“Reorientation on ensuring schools safety and coping with behavior problems shall be linked and networked with other organizations that are more equipped with the related services, like the Philippine Mental Health Association or Red Cross,” she said. (FREEMAN)