📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Snehrashmi
Education
Gujarat orders mental‑health support for classes 9‑12 under UMEED guidelines
✍️ The Indian Express
🗓 02 Nov 2026, 01:46 PM
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The Gujarat government has mandated that schools provide mental‑health support to students in classes 9 to 12, implementing the UMEED guidelines.
Gujarat's education department issued a directive requiring all secondary schools to incorporate mental‑health support services for students in grades nine through twelve. The order cites the UMEED guidelines, a framework designed to standardise counselling, awareness programmes and referral mechanisms within schools.
Under the new mandate, schools must appoint qualified counsellors or partner with mental‑health professionals to address issues such as stress, anxiety and depression among adolescents. The guidelines also call for regular sensitisation workshops for teachers, parents and students to reduce stigma around mental health.
The state government says the move aims to create a safer learning environment and improve overall student well‑being, aligning Gujarat with emerging national priorities on adolescent mental health.
Under the new mandate, schools must appoint qualified counsellors or partner with mental‑health professionals to address issues such as stress, anxiety and depression among adolescents. The guidelines also call for regular sensitisation workshops for teachers, parents and students to reduce stigma around mental health.
The state government says the move aims to create a safer learning environment and improve overall student well‑being, aligning Gujarat with emerging national priorities on adolescent mental health.