Teachers From 380 Secondary Schools Trained On Mental Health
In order to raise mental health awareness, the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers in Nakuru trained nearly 400 teachers to be wellbeing champions in their respective institutions.
The teachers were drawn from the county’s 380 secondary schools and a few from primary schools that house Special Units for children with disabilities, such as Ngala School for the Deaf.
Following an increase in teacher suicides, KUPPET urged the government to direct more resources toward teacher mental health, particularly in Post-Primary Institutions.
According to Duncan Gitau, executive secretary of the Kuppet Nakuru branch, cases of mental illnesses are on the rise and affect professionals from all sectors.
During the training, Gitau urged the champions to be on the lookout for any signs of mental illness among their colleagues in order to intervene quickly.
“We have not had extreme cases of depression that have led to suicide among teachers in Nakuru but it is note-worthy that recently, there were four cases of suicide among teachers in Nyamira county within a week and that can happen here too,” he said.
According to Gitau, the wellbeing champions would create mentally healthy schools by providing peer support while identifying specific needs within the educational environment.
He stated that the wellbeing champions will disseminate the information to their respective staffrooms, where they will serve as role models and helpful resources for positivity.
According to Gitau, the wellness champions are not experts, but rather strategic signposts pointing the way to professional help or other resources.
According to the official, mental wellness champions would also collaborate with psychology counsellors in schools to assist students, as cases of child suicide were on the rise, particularly in Molo, Njoro, and Subukia subcounties.
Representatives from the Teacher Service Commission, banks, insurance companies, and partner hospitals attended the training.
The unionist praised the National Assembly and TSC, saying that after the Mental Health Bill was passed, insurance companies began covering mental illness treatment.
“May is a mental awareness month and Kuppet intends to create awareness about mental stress because of the economic hardships and other life strains thus the need for such training to save lives,” he said.
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Gitau observed that, due to stigma, families and society were concealing cases of mental illness rather than assisting patients in seeking treatment.
He went on to say that the Kuppet Nakuru branch had chosen Gilgil Mental Hospital to treat their members.
Teachers were advised to live within their means in order to avoid financial stress, which can lead to depression.
They were also forbidden from using corporal punishment on students or engaging in sexual relationships with them.
Teachers From 380 Secondary Schools Trained On Mental Health