Daijiworld Media Network – Bengaluru (MS)
Bengaluru, May 22: A mental health helpline service which was initiated by the health department in the wake of announcement of the SSLC results has received enormous response from the students. More than 500 students have sought help from the helpline. It has been decided to continue the helpline service for the next two weeks.
After two years of coronavirus pandemic, this year the SSLC students wrote the examination on a full-scale. They could not attend full time classes in school as they were taught online for sometime at the beginning of the academic year. So naturally, the students were tense and curious to know about their results.
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Recently, the health department started a mental health helpline service with the active participation of NIMHANS. On May 19, the helpline received 450 calls. On May 20 and 21, the helpline got calls from 60 and 40 students respectively.
Many students expressed their feelings with the counsellors like say for instance if they have failed in the examination and their parents are angry or that they had fought with them. Some said that the result was disappointing and that they should have got more marks. While some spoke for five minutes, others spoke for about 50 minutes or more with the counsellors.
The counsellors were able to pacify the callers by speaking to them in a calm and composed manner. In some cases, they also spoke to the parents of the caller and resolved the issue. Some of them had called to clear the chaos with regards to opting for particular branch of study in PU, while others also sought help on re-examination and re-evaluation of answer papers.
D Randeep, commissioner of health department said, “We have got good response from the SSLC students on the mental health helpline service which was installed for addressing their concerns. Many calls were received in the days after the announcement of results also. Students who are under mental pressure due to results and other issues can directly call the helpline on 08046110007 and seek counselling.”