_{The spate of student suicides has made Catholic institutions look afresh at counselling programmes in schools. They are also looking at reaching out to youth groups in parishes to help stressed kids.
Fr Anthony Charanghat, spokesperson for the Catholic Church in the city, said the issue was discussed by the Archdiocesan Board of Education at a meeting attended by Cardinal Oswald Gracias.}

_{“The discussions hinged on tackling the problem in a multi-pronged manner. The issue of stress among youth has to be tackled by schools, teachers and parents. There is also the role of the media, which projects values that are imbibed by the youth,’’ he said. Charanghat said that the board, which runs over 140 schools in the city, will look at tackling these issues in a holistic manner.}

_{They are trying to identify the problem areas and look for signs of dysfunction in children and families, signs of stress and try and address the problem. A system called adolescent mentoring, which identifies children who are ill at ease with the system and are not feeling good about school will be soon putting in place’}

_{Appointment of full time councillors in the school who are helped by teachers who have undergone counsellor training is in the consideration. Measures to beat stress among students like a leisure period or happy hour once a week, when children can do whatever they want is being encouraged. Emphasis on counselling for Std X students and increase interaction with students is another thought along with stress busters activities for students.}

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