A petition to introduce mental health leave in high schools and junior-high schools received more than 3,000 signatures in one day, the Taiwan Youth Association for Democracy said yesterday.
Association leader Chang Yu-meng (張育萌) said that the group hoped that having mental health days would help students become more aware of their emotional state.
The association also urged the Ministry of Health and Welfare to provide free counseling for students as young as 12, as students unburden themselves due to society’s view on mental health.
Photo: CNA
Citing Ministry of Education statistics, Chang said that between 2016 and 2020, the number of students from elementary school to college attempting suicide had grown about eightfold from 1,089 to 8,730.
Chang also cited an association survey in July last year in which 87 percent of respondents supported having mental health leave, while 90 percent said that such measures would benefit students’ mental health.
Student stress ranges from worrying about not getting into a good school to not being able to find an ideal job, Chang said, adding that many respondents were afraid of failure and that they were not competitive.
Responding to the petition, the Ministry of Education said that it had inquired with local governments about the issue in May last year.
The ministry on Monday last week issued official guidelines for schools offering leave for students based on mental health, with high schools and vocational high schools expected to begin trialing the measure next month.
The measures are to officially start at the beginning of the next academic year in August, it said.
National Taiwan University and 43 other universities have already implemented mental health days that students can take up to five times per semester.
The policies were due to student requests, as the number self-harming or attempting suicide from stress has been mounting over the years, the education ministry said.
The physical and mental health leave days should only be available for three days per semester, and students can opt to take a half-day or an entire day, the guidelines state.
Taking such leave would not require any proof of discomfort or illness, but if students opt to take a day off during examinations, they should observe relevant regulations, such as those regarding remedial exams, they say.
Student representatives should also be included in talks when drafting regulations, and faculty and staff should encourage students to seek assistance, while there should not be actions that discriminate against those who take such leave, the guidelines state.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to