Schools must prioritize students’ emotional wellbeing alongside academics

Examination stress, excessive screen time, social media pressures, bullying and loneliness are emerging as major challenges for schoolchildren, prompting educationists and mental health experts to call for emotional wellbeing to be integrated into the education system rather than being treated as an occasional awareness exercise.
Experts say schools must move beyond measuring success solely through academic performance and instead create environments where students feel safe, supported and emotionally resilient.
According to the World Health Organisation, one in seven adolescents aged 10-19 years lives with a mental disorder, with depression, anxiety and behavioural disorders.
The UNICEF (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund) and NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training) have highlighted rising stress among children and the need for stronger counselling support and mental health awareness in schools.
“Schools today are witnessing children struggling with increased anxiety, perfectionism, fear of failure and emotional exhaustion at much younger ages than we saw a decade ago,” said Dr Nand Kumar, professor in the Department of Psychiatry at AIIMS, Delhi.
Academic achievement cannot come at the cost of poor mental health, he said.
Dr Kumar emphasised that every school should have systems for early enhancing of resilience in children, along with early identification of emotional distress, access to trained counsellors and teachers equipped to recognise behavioural changes before they escalate into serious psychiatric conditions.
Mental health experts noted that while awareness around emotional well-being has improved in recent years, stigma continues to prevent many students from seeking timely help.
Dr Kumar stated that instead of treating counselling as an intervention only during crises, schools should normalise conversations around emotions, resilience, stress management and healthy relationships as part of everyday learning.
Educationists believe schools have an equally important role in shaping emotionally healthy environments through institutional policies, teachers’ training and parental engagement.
“Education today must prepare children not only to excel in examinations but also to navigate setbacks, uncertainty and interpersonal relationships. Schools need to integrate social-emotional learning, mindfulness, peer-support initiatives and regular interaction with counsellors into the school ecosystem. A child’s emotional wellbeing is as important as academic success, and both must progress together,” said educationist Shishir Jaipuria, chairman of Seth Anandram Jaipuria Group of Educational Institutions.
Several schools have begun introducing wellness periods, dedicated counselling cells, peer mentoring programmes and workshops on cyber safety, emotional regulation and responsible digital behaviour, he said.
Jaipuria pointed out that each teacher has to adopt the role of a counsellor to address the challenge of fewer trained counsellors.
Psychologists cautioned that rapid integration of digital technology into children’s lives has added new challenges to their emotional wellbeing.
While digital platforms support learning, creativity and social connection, excessive and unregulated use, particularly of social media, can affect self-esteem, relationships and emotional regulation.
Research published in leading international journals has found associations between excessive screen time and increased risks of anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances and reduced attention spans among adolescents, although experts caution that the quality of digital engagement and family support also play important roles.
“Today’s children are growing up in an environment where they are constantly exposed to carefully curated and often unattainable versions of other people’s lives,” said Dr Deepika Dahima, Counselling Psychologist at AIIMS, Delhi.
The pressure to compare, seek validation and maintain an idealised online identity can gradually erode self-esteem, foster loneliness and create unrealistic expectations about success, appearance and relationships, she said.
“Rather than focusing solely on restricting screen time, parents and schools must work collaboratively to cultivate healthy digital habits, critical media literacy and emotional resilience. Children need safe spaces where they can openly discuss their emotions, develop self-awareness and learn evidence-based skills to identify, express and regulate their feelings instead of internalising distress or seeking validation through digital platforms,” Dr Dahima added.
Mental health professionals said schools play a key role in identifying early signs of psychological distress, with teachers often the first to notice behavioural changes such as social withdrawal, irritability, declining academic performance or loss of interest in activities.
Dr Dahima stressed that regular communication between teachers, school counsellors and parents creates a strong support system for children.
“Early recognition, timely intervention and sustained emotional support not only prevent concerns from escalating into more serious mental health conditions but also promote resilience, healthy development and lifelong emotional wellbeing,” she said. (PTI)