China to require mental health screening as part of student health check-ups
- The effort is part of a plan to normalise mental health awareness in an effort to treat and prevent depression
- However, most experts do not believe many mental health disorders can be prevented as they are out of the individual’s control
While the screening will try and analyse a person’s mental health in general, it will be targeted towards pinpointing whether or not a student has depression.
Analysts said the screening measure has been adopted against a backdrop of an increasing number of teenagers affected by depression.
“Educating young people to prevent depression is an important task for implementing a quality education, promoting the all-round development of young people and ensuring their physical and mental health,” read the notice released to the public earlier this month.
The ministry laid out expectations across various mental health education initiatives and said it expected the guidelines to be implemented by the end of 2022.
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The MOE said that various local government agencies — such as the health, education and propaganda departments — need to build a mental health framework for students.