CISCE to Launch Mental Health Dialogues for 16 Lakh+ Students Across 18 Regions, Check Details
CISCE is launching a Student Mental Health and Well-Being Initiative to reach 16 lakh students and 32,000 teachers. It will end with a national conclave in Hyderabad. Read the article to get complete information.
The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations is all set to launch a Student Mental Health and Well-Being Initiative. The plan is to bring nearly 16 lakh students and 32,000 teachers from its affiliated schools into one structured conversation about mental health. The programme will go beyond the usual awareness activities. It creates a clear mechanism through which student experiences, concerns and aspirations move from classrooms to regional platforms and finally to a national forum. The launch will coincide with World Mental Health Day on October 10. Scroll to get more details.
A Plan That Begins Inside the Classroom
The first tier of the initiative is the School-Level Mental Health and Well-Being Dialogues. These will run from October 4 to 31, 2026 across CISCE-affiliated schools. Students of Classes 6 to 12 will take part in weekly structured classroom discussions. Four themes will guide these conversations. They are Student Stress and Academic Pressures. Emotional Well-being Digital Life and Positive Relationships. Drugs, Substance Abuse and Healthy Choices. Building Resilience and Help-Seeking Behaviour. Joseph Emmanuel is the Chief Executive and Secretary of CISCE. He said student well-being cannot be solved through isolated interventions or occasional conversations. He also said these discussions will build a large repository of student perspectives and experiences. They will help schools strengthen listening empathy, peer support and the right pathways to help.
Regional Conclaves and a National Conclave in Hyderabad
The second tier will be the Regional Student Mental Health and Well-Being Conclaves. These will be held virtually across 18 regions from November 4 to 14, 2026. Selected student representatives and teacher mentors will join the regional discussions. They will examine together what the school level conversations brought out. The regional conclaves will also select student representatives and teacher mentors for the National Conclave through a fair and merit-based process. The initiative will end with the CISCE National Student Mental Health Conclave in Hyderabad. It will be held from November 20 to 22, 2026 at the CISCE Centre of Excellence. The conclave will bring together 72 students from the 18 regions and 18 teacher mentors. Mental health and policy experts along with CISCE leadership partners and the media will also take part. Emmanuel said the real measure of this initiative will not be the number of conversations. It will be what those conversations help us understand and change. He added that this Conclave takes that conversation from individual classrooms to a national platform. The aim is to listen to students systematically and turn their lived experiences into practical recommendations, stronger school practices and a shared national framework for student well-being.
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