Academic scholars have called on stakeholders in the education sector to strengthen counselling and guidance policies in schools as a critical step toward addressing the rising mental health challenges among both learners and teachers.

Speaking at a one-day school stakeholders’ workshop on mental health held at Makerere University’s College of Education and External Studies, Prof. Rev. Samuel Luboga, Chairperson of the Education Service Commission, highlighted the growing crisis affecting young people in schools.

The workshop, held under the theme “Enhancing Stakeholders’ Capacity to Address Students’ Mental Health and Psychosocial Challenges,” brought together education officials, school administrators, and policymakers.

Prof. Luboga noted that increasing cases of bullying, corporal punishment, and pressure to achieve high academic results are contributing significantly to mental health issues among students. These pressures, he said, have led to alarming outcomes, including suicide, substance abuse, and rising admissions of young people into mental health institutions.

“There have been many reported cases of suicide among young people,” he said. “Recently, a student in Mengo who had performed well, but not to the expectations of her parents and peers, took her own life. Mental health institutions are seeing more admissions of children as young as eleven years old. Drug use in schools is also getting out of hand. All these challenges require sustainable solutions.”

He urged teachers and parents to adopt alternative disciplinary approaches, warning that corporal punishment and public shaming only worsen the situation.

Prof. Anthony Muwagga Muaggaga, Principal of the College of Education and External Studies, emphasized the need for schools to establish strong systems that support both students and teachers.