Maharashtra govt to focus on mental health, dental hygiene and eyesight of 2.5 lakh tribal students

“We want to sensitise headmasters and teachers so that they can identify the students with signs of depression and anxiety or any other mental health issues. We will train the in-charge of the schools. This will help us provide timely care with counseling and interventions,” said Dr Vyas.

Most of these students belong to marginal communities who study in aided and government-run ashram schools and often ignore dental habits, which in the long run affect their overall health. “Oral problems affected food intake. For instance, if a student has an untreated cavity, he would not be able to chew properly which in the long run affects the consumption of nutritional foods,” said Dr Vyas. So, initiatives would be taken to hold regular camps to check dental health and eyesight of the students.

“Children with poor eyesight can’t read from the blackboard properly which impacts their attention and some even slip into depression. With regular eye checkup, we have to provide glasses to the students,” he said.

Many students complain of skin diseases like scabies. So, they would be trained in hygiene practices.

Under the centre’s RBSK, the students till the age of 18 years are screened for 4 Ds — Defects at birth, Diseases, Deficiencies and Development delays. But its implementation is a challenge especially in areas where the schools and hostels are located in remote areas.

“Adequate implementation of the schemes especially as all the schools and hostels have opened post-Covid-19 will be our priority,” said Dr Vyas.

Along with that, he also plans to bring nutritional variations in the food given to the children. “Generally, the students in ashram schools are served dinner by 7
pm and, after a gap of 12 hours, the next day around 8 am, they get their breakfast. This is a long gap where the body demands food. So, we are in talks with nutritionists to find any other alternatives to it,” said Dr Vyas.