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Letters | Beat Covid-19 blues with a buddy system: how Hong Kong schools can plug gaps in mental health support

  • As pandemic disruptions leave students stressed, the Education Bureau should consider introducing peer support networks in every secondary school

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Fellow students are best placed to empathise with the various stress-related problems their peers are going through. Photo: Winson Wong
Letters
Since the Covid-19 pandemic started, many secondary school students have faced an enormous amount of pressure as they encounter various learning challenges. According to a Hok Yau Club survey, more than half of the Diploma of Secondary Education candidates said the pandemic had stalled their study plans, and many reported high stress levels, which must have an effect on their mental health. As pre-service teachers, we are concerned about whether students receive enough support from their schools for any mental health or stress-related problems.
Since the 2019-20 school year, the Hong Kong government has allocated two social workers to each publicly funded secondary school to better support students. But this is still far from the ideal ratio of one social worker for every 250 students recommended by the US National Association of Social Workers back in 2012. Moreover, in response to our request under the Code on Access to Information, the Education Bureau said it has no plans to conduct any research on the effectiveness of social workers in schools.
While we are pleased to learn that the bureau provides some training to serving teachers under the “Professional Development Programme for Mental Health”, we wonder how well a few days of general training would equip teachers to successfully tackle their students’ mental health problems, which can be complex and varied.

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Given the inadequacies in mental health support for students, we suggest that schools also build peer support networks.

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These can be similar to existing initiatives at Hong Kong universities, such as Chinese University’s uBuddies programme and Baptist University’s network of Mental Health First Aid Captains. These programmes and networks successfully reach out to many students through social media platforms and their services are in demand daily.

Adolescents often feel that adults do not understand them. Empowering some students as “good listeners” may offer their peers a more effective form of support, as fellow students are best placed to empathise with the various stress-related problems they are going through. Therefore, we urge the Education Bureau to consider making it a policy to build a peer support network in every secondary school.

We hope that, with the government’s concerted efforts to research and formulate better solutions, students can receive more comprehensive mental health support, find help to relieve their stress, and go on to have an enjoyable and productive secondary school life.

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