UNESCO, CBSE and NCERT train educators for student well-being

New Delhi: UNESCO, in collaboration with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), conducted the eleventh capacity-building workshop under the School Health and Wellness Programme (SHWP) in New Delhi this week, according to an official statement.

The workshop forms a key part of the national strategy to expand the cadre of Master Trainers responsible for rolling out the programme across 30,000 CBSE-affiliated schools, aiming to reach 15 million adolescent learners across the country.

In June and July 2025, more than 290 school principals, leaders, and educators from 22 states and five union territories, including Andhra Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Odisha, Puducherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal, participated in the workshop.

Anandrao V Patil, IAS, Additional Secretary at the Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL), Ministry of Education, underscored the significance of mental health, gender equality, and inclusive education in realising the holistic vision of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. "You are changemakers. Never forget that," he said, reinforcing the transformative role of education in shaping responsible and empathetic individuals.

Professor Dinesh Prasad Saklani, Director of NCERT, praised the joint efforts of CBSE, UNESCO, and NCERT in organising the initiative. Highlighting the importance of understanding adolescents more profoundly, he remarked that when underlying family issues go unnoticed, teachers may misinterpret student behaviour. "This is why such training is crucial; it helps educators recognise challenges and work towards achievable goals," he noted.

"Health and education are not separate goals; they are interlinked foundations for equity, dignity, and opportunity. Every wellness session, every teacher trained, every child heard, it’s a step towards systems that put learners at the centre," said Tim Curtis, Director of UNESCO’s South Asia Regional Office.

Led by NCERT and supported by UNESCO, a 24-hour curriculum, training modules, and facilitator guides have been developed to support the programme’s implementation. Additionally, UNESCO and NCERT have co-created animated videos and a comic book aligned with the SHWP’s 11 core themes, which include emotional well-being, mental health, gender equality, reproductive health, and responsible internet use. These resources are available in English, Hindi, and nine other Indian languages.

Launched in February 2020 under the Government of India’s Ayushman Bharat initiative, the School Health and Wellness Programme adopts a holistic approach to student well-being, focusing on prevention and health promotion through education. Since August 2022, a total of 970 Master Trainers have been trained through eleven intensive five-day workshops held at NCERT.

These trainers are now facilitating implementation in their respective schools and supporting further training through CBSE’s Centres of Excellence. According to the release, more than 40,000 teachers have been trained to date via 754 Capacity Building Programmes.

ANI inputs