The Government of Kerala has announced a new initiative to train 3,000 school teachers to serve as primary mental health counselors across the state. This will be Phase 1 of the initiative, a move that’s part of a broader effort to address rising levels of psychological distress among students, including anxiety, substance use, and excessive screen dependency.
The program is being implemented under the state’s “Comprehensive Quality Improvement” program, which was unveiled earlier in 2025. The training for the school teachers will be conducted at the Centre for Child Development, a part of the State Health Department.
The aim is to equip teachers with the skills to recognize early signs of mental health issues, provide basic counseling support, and connect students to appropriate services when needed.
“The primary aim of this move is to keep students away from drug abuse and too much screen time,” said V Sivankutty, Kerala’s General Education Minister to the press.
Alongside the mental health training, the state will also roll out academic support for students who struggle to meet the minimum subject-wise mark threshold.
