With more or less relapses, teachers and staff are being vaccinated with the third dose of the covid-19 vaccine, a testing campaign is planned, isolation rules have been changed and one positive case should prevent entire classes from being taken into isolation. Classes returned face-to-face on Monday, with more good news: The Education Ministry has commissioned a team of researchers to conduct a study that will assess the psychological well-being of students and teachers.
This month begins and should identify strategies to mitigate the problems detected in different regions of the country. What is expected is that the actions that will be proposed will be taken seriously. Because the problem is serious.
In October, UNICEF released its report state of the world’s children, He explained that the impact of the epidemic on the mental health of children and young people was not only enormous, but will be permanent, which does not correspond to the lack of public investment and the lack of interest from governments. Some of the numbers mentioned can be found there In a meta-analysis of 29 studies Covering 80,879 young people worldwide: the prevalence of symptoms of depression and anxiety doubled during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic estimates; One in four has symptoms of elevated depression and one in five has anxiety. on one Large survey conducted in the United Kingdomreleased in September, girls and young adults from disadvantaged families reported the greatest dissatisfaction with the state of their mental health.
The Portuguese study will show what is happening in our schools. Teachers will also be invited to participate because, as the team coordinator explains in this edition, “If teachers are severely affected, we think, they should also be helped to help the children.” The first results will be released through March.
The means are not abundant. newly paper From the Psychologists Syndicate to the President of the Republic he stressed the promotion of psychologists in non-teaching schools, which now have more than 1,700 such professionals, but added that in higher education there would be just over a hundred, “it is impossible to get support” in the centers health.
Thus, resources, commitment and imagination will be required. It’s not just about reclaiming the lessons lost in those two years. the The psychological well-being of students should be at the center of schools’ concerns and social policies.
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