Hyderabad: Following a spate of suicides among students, all junior colleges, including government, private, and corporate, have been instructed to introduce meditation, yoga, and relaxation exercises in the daily schedule of students. Games and sports in the evening have also been made mandatory for students.
In a proceeding issued by the Department of Intermediate Education, college management has been instructed to employ professional counselors to counsel students regularly. The counseling is to be blended with fact-finding exercises, with a scope for the development of remedial measures for the emotional and physical well-being of students.
The college management has also been instructed not just to keep a close watch on students’ academic performance but also to look out for any clues of psychological pressure. They have been told to arrange extension lectures with experts in areas such as building self-confidence, coping with anxiety, failure, and success, improving concentration, and career counseling.
The department has directed colleges to strictly follow the academic calendar and working hours issued by the Telangana State Board of Intermediate Education (TS BIE). It has told management to convene a meeting with parents once a month to ascertain their expectations and their wards’ feelings, besides suggesting remedial steps where required.
Stating that overcrowding of hostels was one of the reasons for stress among students, the department asked junior colleges to ensure a limited number of students in a room and provide a sufficient number of washrooms.
Apart from ensuring proper infrastructure, i.e., sufficient space in classrooms with proper lighting, ventilation, and furniture, the department wanted colleges to strictly adhere to the BIE’s stipulation on the number of students in each classroom.
Next Story:
Now you can get the latest stories from Hydnow every day. Click the link to subscribe. Click to follow Hydnow’s Facebook page and Twitter and Instagram