Ministry of Education and Training pilots model of providing school psychological counseling services

According to the plan, the model of providing social work services and school psychological counseling will be piloted by the Ministry of Education and Training from February to August 2024 in the following provinces and cities: Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Ha Giang, Tuyen Quang, Hoa Binh, Thanh Hoa.

When deployed, the model will have the following contents: Instructions on organizing activities to provide social work services and psychological counseling in educational institutions according to regulations and practices in localities.

Organize professional training for schools to pilot the model of providing social work and psychological counseling services; operate the model of social work and psychological counseling at schools; organize exchanges and experiences between educational institutions piloting the model; survey, inspect, monitor, and support the pilot implementation; evaluate and develop reports on the results of piloting the model at educational institutions.

The purpose of the pilot is to guide schools in organizing social work and psychological counseling activities in a systematic and convenient manner; at the same time, to increase propaganda about the model, thereby promoting activities to support and protect students in schools in provinces and cities nationwide.

Localities select schools for the pilot program, and schools select teachers to undertake social work and psychological counseling for students.

In June 2024, the Ministry of Education and Training organized training and professional development to improve the capacity of officials and teachers to provide social work services and school psychological counseling, thereby improving the capacity and effectiveness of supporting and protecting students; organizing exchanges and learning experiences in implementing social work and psychological counseling among pilot educational institutions.

During the implementation process, the Ministry of Education and Training will survey, inspect, monitor, and support the pilot implementation; evaluate and develop a report on the results of the pilot implementation of the model at educational institutions to serve as a basis for replicating the model in the following school year.

According to experts, in schools, it is necessary to have a school psychology counseling room to support students with many psychological problems that arise. For a long time, schools have faced difficulties due to lack of funding, capacity and methods of supporting students of the team performing this task are limited due to lack of proper training.

The communication document on mental health of high school students recently issued by the Ministry of Education and Training affirms that in recent years, in Vietnam, problems related to mental health among school-age students have increased rapidly, but this issue has not received much attention.

Student mental health has been a matter of concern in recent years. Mental health problems such as anxiety and depression not only affect students' physical health but also have a negative impact on their academic performance and the lives of themselves and their families.

Mental health problems are becoming more common around the world. Over the past decade, mental health problems have increased by 13%.

In Vietnam, mental health issues are also increasing rapidly, including among school-age children. However, these age group issues have not received much attention./.