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LettersPathway of Hong Kong pupils’ well-being runs through relationships

Readers discuss the sharp rise in the number of students with mental illness, and an experience with an orthopaedic surgeon

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Seconary school students take the Diploma of Secondary Education Examination at Munsang College on April 9. Photo: Pool
Letters
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I refer to “Number of Hong Kong secondary students with mental illness doubles in 5 years” (April 15). The doubling of diagnosed cases, and the bureau’s own admission that figures are likely under-reported, should alarm us all. I welcome the government’s decision to extend the three-tier mechanism to Primary Four to Six pupils on a trial basis. Early identification is a step in the right direction. But identification alone is not enough. We must talk about prevention.

I respectfully take issue with two points raised by a school principal quoted in the article. First, the suggestion that teachers’ role is primarily to help pupils seek support, as educators were not mental health professionals. This framing risks reducing teachers to gatekeepers of referral slips.

Teachers are the adults pupils see every day. Research shows that educators who develop their own social and emotional competencies create warmer classroom climates, stronger teacher-student relationships and greater student engagement, outcomes that are inherently preventive. Teachers need not be therapists; their role is to build safe, connected classrooms where every child feels a sense of belonging. Framing their role as merely identifying and referring risks further stigmatising pupils and undermining the very safety and belonging that protect mental health.

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