The Andhra Pradesh government has taken a proactive step to integrate mental health and career guidance into the school education system, marking a new beginning in holistic education, said MR Prasanna Kumar, Assistant State Project Director, Samagra Shiksha.
He was speaking at a seven-day residential training program launched at Maris Stella College in Vijayawada on Monday for the Project Management Unit (PMU) and District Counselors under the Mental Health and Career Guidance Project. The program is jointly organized by Samagra Shiksha, EdCIL and UNICEF.
Mr. Prasanna Kumar also highlighted the state government’s commitment to promote emotional and career growth of students. He said that 255 mental health counselors have already been appointed across the state and the department plans to recruit one counselor per mandal soon for a total of 679 counselors. Strengthening mental health and career guidance systems among students is a key objective of Samagra Shiksha, which he described as a milestone initiative in Andhra Pradesh’s education sector.
MV Krishna Reddy, director of the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), said trained counselors should provide round-the-clock support to address behavioral changes observed in adolescents. He also emphasized that students from class 9 to 12 are going through a critical phase where proper career guidance and emotional mentoring is essential to help them focus on their strengths and make informed life decisions.
Indla Ramasubba Reddy, chief psychiatrist and director of Indlas Hospitals, noted that today’s youth face many emotional and behavioral problems such as relationship stress, failure in love, addictions and anxiety. He explained that these are not just disciplinary issues, but a reflection of deep psychological and social changes influenced by media exposure, peer pressure and digital addiction.
He stressed the importance of professional guidance, saying that while parents and elders can offer loving advice, a lack of professional guidance can lead to feelings of guilt or rebellion among teenagers.
B. Ashok Kumar, Research Scholar, NIMHANS, consultants from UNICEF, representatives of Leadership for Equity and founder of MHITR RSVN Sharma and others were present.
Published – 03 Nov 2025 21:16 IST
