Depressed Hong Kong students need better mental health support in schools

Victor Fung Keung says with the majority of local students reporting emotional problems, the new administration could use some of the extra HK$5 billion to hire clinical psychologists and boost counselling services

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Then chief executive hopeful Carrie Lam is given a cross bearing the dates of student suicides, as the government is urged to help prevent the tragedies, in Mong Kok on February 19. Photo: Felix Wong

Published: 3:55pm, 10 Jul 2017Updated: 6:49pm, 10 Jul 2017

Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor is missing a key area as she doles out an extra HK$5 billion a year in education spending. The main beneficiaries will be students of self-financed degree programmes in private universities, as each would receive a HK$30,000 subsidy, while local students attending universities on the mainland would get a HK$5,000 subsidy.Contract teachers would benefit as well, as most would become tenured staff.

However, the chief executive should also have allocated some of the HK$5 billion for hiring clinical psychologists to be stationed in primary and secondary schools.

[Currently] 20 schools share one clinical psychologist

A recent survey revealed nearly 70 per cent of young students in Hong Kong are emotionally disturbed. Unfortunately, in the current situation, 20 schools (each with 700 to 800 students) share one clinical psychologist.

Clinical psychologists can counsel students about emotional problems before they escalate and the youngsters end up hurting themselves or even committing suicide. Educators say they would like to see more support for depressed students.

Stigma of mental health problems is where the real fight lies

The survey found that those who were most unhappy had spent more time online and were more likely to have suffered cyberbullying. This, in turn, caused some to react aggressively online, becoming bullies themselves. Others suffered deep depression.

A student attending a special Legislative Council meeting on recommendations made by the Committee on Prevention of Student Suicides becomes emotional while recounting how going to a local school was like being in prison, on January 7. Photo: Handout

Seven in 10 Hong Kong pupils say everything is wrong in their lives

The study, released last week, polled 3,000 students aged 10 to 16 and was led by Dennis Wong Sing-wing, associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences at City University. While Wong said the government should carry out a survey of students’ mental health, school principals hope more counselling services could be allocated.

According to the survey, carried out from April to June last year as part of a five-year study commissioned by the government’s Quality Education Fund, around 64 per cent of students felt worried or frustrated. More than half felt useless.