The Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education has suspended its directive to implement the “Scientific Lifestyle Development and Mental Health Service Programme”, an initiative of the private organisation Quantum Foundation, in educational institutions under its jurisdiction.
The decision was announced in a memorandum issued by the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) on Wednesday (11 March).
Earlier, in a memorandum issued on 5 March based on instructions from the Ministry of Education, the DSHE had directed secondary schools and colleges across the country to introduce training programmes following the “Scientific Lifestyle Development and Mental Health Service Programme” manual prepared by Quantum Foundation.
According to the directive, a one-day training session for teachers and students was to be organised in the respective educational institutions.
The training activities were scheduled to be held at the institutions’ own premises and were to be provided free of charge.
The memorandum stated that the programme would be implemented in line with a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education and Quantum Foundation.
Under the plan, heads of educational institutions were instructed to coordinate with registered volunteer trainers of Quantum Foundation to organise the training sessions.
The directive also mentioned the formation of a monitoring pool in each institution to oversee students’ daily practice activities following the training.
According to the programme manual, provisions were to be made for counselling services and for supervising students’ regular practice activities. It also proposed involving parents in the training when necessary.
There was also a plan to provide similar training to newly admitted students every year.
Educational institutions were instructed to implement the programme in coordination with relevant education officers and institutional heads.
The memorandum also stated that institutions could contact the central training programme coordinator of Quantum Foundation if required.
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