Govt to Appoint Child Psychologist in Every Upazila

The Government is planning to appoint a child psychologist to assist and provide counselling services to students in each Upazila, Minister of Education Dipu Moni said.

The Minister spoke as Chief Guest during an online discussion on the theme "Let's Talk on Youth Education and Skills," organized by the Centre for Research and Information (CRI) and Young Bangla on Saturday.

According to the Minister of Education, at the initial level, one child psychologist will be appointed in each district. Subsequently, one child psychologist will be appointed to each upazila.

"The psychologist will train both male and female teacher in each school on mental health issues, so that teachers can solve the different psychological problems of students through counseling," Dipu Moni said.

"Youths are really sensitive. There are still many questions in their minds. Some are abused and exploited in different ways at home, outside or in educational institutions. Because of this, they suffer from numerous mental disorders, including depression and anger, which may cause them to commit suicide, "she added.

The Minister also said that the mental health of many students had suffered during the COVID 19 pandemic. As a result of these circumstances, the Ministry of Education intended to appoint one child psychologist in each Upazila in the country.

Technical education course mandatory at SSC level  

The Minister of Education noted that it was time to consider whether higher education was required for everyone. Instead, it would be more important to ensure that more than two million young people added to the labor force every year have the skills required to succeed.

“We need to ensure that youths have the skills demanded by the market,” the minister said.

In view of the current labor market and the implementation of Vision 2041, the Ministry of Education has given the highest importance to quality and skill-based technical education, the Minister said in her address.

“The government has taken a plan to make one trade course compulsory for every student in class IX and X, with the aim of mainstreaming technical education,” she added.

The event was attended by Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmed, Secretary of Madrasa and Technical Education Department Aminul Islam Khan and many young entrepreneurs and students.

Currently, a total of 18 ministries and agencies of the country, including the National Skills Development Authority, are working on skill development.