NESTS organized workshop for EMRS faculties on mental wellness of tribal students

For the betterment of the mental and physical health of tribal students, the National Education Society for Tribal Students (NESTS) organized a 4-day capacity building workshop for the teachers and principals of Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS).  This was the first batch of the workshop in which 54 faculties were nominated from 27 EMRS across Orissa. The workshop commenced on 3rd January and went on till 6th January.

Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS), is helping to impart free education to the ST students from class VI to XII. There are about 480 tribal students studying in each school. NESTS serves as an autonomous organization that has been set up for the sole purpose to control, manage and maintain these schools and also help to promote them among the tribal populations.

The tribal students living in remote locations are not that well aware of the mental, physical, and nutritional health needs that they require. This workshop was aimed at training the teachers and principals of EMRS, so they have the right expertise to guide students on these matters. The four-day workshop covered all the important topics regarding nutrition, mental health, and general well-being.

The workshop was inaugurated by Smt. Renuka Singh Sarutra, Minister of State, Ministry of Tribal Affairs. She stressed in her speech that it is really important that the tribal population are in the best of their health and they should receive the best expertise and knowledge on such matters. She said that this workshop is the need of the hour for our nation’s tribal building workforce. Other dignitaries included Deputy Commissioner NESTS Indira Mudgal and Director- Training, PHFI Dr. Pushkar Kumar. Smt.

To help build the tribal population’s workforce, this workshop proved to be really helpful as the gap lay in the knowledge regarding healthcare was filled by comprehensive programs like these that had a special focus on adolescents. Since students are in an environment like their schools, teachers can act as mediators for imparting such useful information which will benefit the children’s lives in the long run.

This workshop enhanced the public healthcare institution by addressing the needs and problems faced by tribal students in the EMRS. Through these training and education workshops, a lot of knowledge regarding healthcare will be shared with a large population of students among the different EMRS schools and will improve their well-being.