Polytechnics and ITE colleges launch mental wellness curriculum

Year 1 students in polytechnics and Institute of Technical Education (ITE) are now able to take a new mental wellness curriculum in their schools. 

Announced by Minister of State for Education Sun Xueling in Parliament on Wednesday (Mar 3), the new curriculum is aimed at raising awareness of mental wellness and to encourage those who need help to seek it early. 

The polytechnics and ITE worked with the Health Promotion Board to launch the curriculum, which will be available for all Year 1 students from 2020 and 2021. 

“The (autonomous universities) are also promoting mental wellness through briefings during freshmen orientation and university-wide programmes,” said Ms Sun. 

She added that schools will appoint dedicated key personnel to oversee peer support and student well-being matters. These staff will also tap on student peer supporters to help. 

Already, mental health education has been included in secondary schools since the start of 2021 as part of the character and citizenship education (CCE) curriculum. 

Students will learn about topics like differentiating signs of stress and distress, as well as healthy habits for positive well-being. 

If you are looking for more mental well-being resources, check out Youthopia’s resource page with everything from mental health self-assessments to tips for coping with challenging seasons in life.