Amid a spike in the number of students who died by suicide this year, the Ministry of Education on Tuesday, 3 October, issued draft guidelines for schools to prevent them.
The draft guidelines are called UMMEED (Understand, Motivate, Manage, Empathise, Empower, Develop).
These guidelines which were drafted on the principle that “every child matters,” suggest the following:
Setting up a School Wellness Team in all institutes
Setting up ways to identify students who might be at risk of self-harm or those who might be showing warning signs
Acting as first responders to support students who might need help
Schools should “enhance” sensitivity and understanding towards students
Stigma around suicidal tendencies and behaviour should be reduced
Schools and parents should partner to prevent self-harm in students
Not comparing students or pitting them against each other