The Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has directed that counselling services be provided in all schools in the State to ensure students are equipped with essential life skills. All teachers in a school should be provided training in child psychology in phases, the commission said.
A full Bench of the commission comprising chairperson K.V. Manoj Kumar and members Shajesh Bhaskar P. and Mohankumar B. was taking suo motu action on the basis of newspaper reports on incidents such as the death of 15-year-old Mohammed Shahabas following student clashes in Kozhikode last year and other incidents involving schoolchildren.
The commission observed that capacity building programmes should be held for all teachers in a time-bound manner so that they could identify changes in student behaviour early on, equip them to handle students’ stress and anxiety, communicate with students in a friendly manner, and if need be refer them for counselling.
Project should be devised to create a child-friendly environment in schools so that friction between senior and junior students could be transformed into guidance and mentoring. Anti-bullying club, complaint boxes for students to submit complaints without any threat of blowback, and suggestion books for entering ideas and opinions should be maintained.
Awareness classes on mobile/Internet literacy, cyber security, responsible social media use, and prevention of cyber bullying should be created among parents.
Extra-curricular programmes
Schools should formulate extra-curricular programmes to engage students in arts, sports, cultural, and social activities through clubs and other activities beyond competitions and grace marks.
When drawing up programmes, the services of psychologists, social workers, juvenile police units, legal services authority, and child protection services can be sought.
Students should receive instruction on legal awareness, gender sensitivity, constitutional values, and social responsibilities, with programs developed in collaboration with district child protection units and legal services authorities.
Besides academics, students should be assessed on behaviour, cooperation, and social participation.
The commission directed the General Education Secretary and the Director of General Education to implement the above directions within two years.
Each year, hundreds of children came into conflict with law. These were the result of family issues, education-social pressures, digital and social media influence, and substance abuse, the commission noted.
Other than academics, personality development should be given priority to prevent crime among children. Only by strengthening children mentally, imparting values to them, and teaching them life skills could a healthy society be built, the commission observed.
Published – February 13, 2026 06:53 pm IST
