Pradeep Singh

Bhubaneswar: Millions of children and students have not yet stepped outside their doors since the outbreak of Coronavirus and with their lives turned upside down, their future hangs in balance. Without schools, friends, teachers and hardly any outdoor activity, students are locked up in their homes with laptops and mobiles - a situation that can hardly be considered conducive for their overall development.

"I wish the coronavirus gets wiped out of our country soon and we can go to school," said Naibedya Mohanty, a student from Cuttack.

"We are having online classes but missing our school, teachers and friends," said Sreyansu, a student from Bhubaneswar.

In rural areas, the situation is no different. Students are dependent solely on online classes for their studies. "Though the online classes are on due to the pandemic situation, we are unable to clear all our doubts," said a student from Gunupur.

Speaking on the same, psychiatrist Sangeeta Rath said, "Students need to be made aware that this is a temporary phase and it will be over once a vaccine is out in the market."

"It's time for parents to focus on children and keep them busy as much as possible. Also, more interaction with them is very important," said Benudhar Senapati, director of Child Line, Bhubaneswar.

The Union Human Resource Development Ministry recently launched a ‘Manodarpan’ initiative to provide psycho-social support and counselling to students for their mental health and well-being.

Under the initiative, those who need psycho-social assistance or counselling can visit the official website of Manodarpan (manodarpan.mhrd.gov.in) or call on the helpline number (8448440632).

“The Ministry has felt that while it is important to focus on continuing education on the academic front, the mental well-being of the students also needs to be given equal importance,” said HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank during the launch of Manodarpan.

(Edited By Bikram Keshari Jena)

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