Mental health days offered in high schools

STEP FORWARD :
The Taiwan Youth Foundation for Democracy welcomed the move, but said measures such as providing students with information about the council are also needed.

• By Shelley Shan / Reporter

From August 1, secondary school students will be offered three days of “mental health adjustment” leave per semester to help them, their parents and their school look after their psychological well-being, the Ministry of Education said yesterday.

The ministry announced that it will soon revise Article 24 of the Methods for Assessing Students’ Learning in Senior Secondary Schools (高級中等學校學生學習評量辦法) by adding “mental health adjustment” and “menstrual cycles” as permissible reasons for students to take leave.

While college and university students are allowed to take time off to care for their mental health, high school students are not allowed to do so, the ministry said.

Allowing secondary school students to have mental health adjustment days would help them balance their physical and mental health, manage any psychological discomfort and monitor their own psychological well-being, the ministry said, adding that it would also give parents and schools the opportunity to monitor students.

Students can also take half a day or a full day at a time, he added.

In March, the ministry began testing the new policy in 42 high schools across the country.

The trial results showed that a majority of schools would allow students to take time off if they were experiencing mild psychological discomfort, if they obtained consent from their parents or primary guardians.

Although most schools do not count students who take mental health accommodation leave as absent, they will not be recognized as having a complete attendance record.

The Taiwan Youth Foundation for Democracy wrote on Facebook that it acknowledged the ministry’s efforts to improve the mental health of high school students, but said other support measures must be put in place to ensure the new policy’s success, such as giving students counseling information when they seek help.