Need for routine mental health training and evaluation of school teachers

Abstract

Background: In working towards the goal of Universal Health Coverage, mental health is often neglected in terms of awareness, human resources, and health care facilities. This pandemic has increased the awareness regarding the importance of mental health. Methods: Every occupation is subjected to mental stress, but a field of particular importance is a teacher. During the ages 5-15, the teacher’s effect on the growing child is unique as they take part in building the academics and the personality of a student. Results: Teachers themselves are often subjected to high work pressure, low pay, and other challenges and their mental health is often overlooked. Hence there is a profound need for training the teachers on detection of early signs of mental disorder and also incorporating their routine mental health examination. The close bonding between the teachers and students can be utilized to generate awareness and help in early diagnosis. Conclusion: From this we have concluded that the preserving the teacher’s mental health will benefit the teacher and their students the future of the nation. Keywords: teachers mental health, teachers-student dyad, training of teachers, mental disorders