04 August 2021
Students generally prefer to speak to a familiar teacher about what is troubling them, rather than a counsellor they have little contact with.
This view was enunciated at a forum – titled It’s Okay Not To Be Okay – organised by The Straits Times on Friday (July 30). During the forum, Education Minister Chan Chun Sing stated that the lingering stigma of seeing a counsellor, and its associations with misbehaviour, hold students back from seeking professional help.
Tampines Meridian Junior College student El’Yez Mu’Arif said teens might not feel comfortable sharing private details with counsellors. He said that perhaps the Ministry of Education could train more teachers in this field.
Mr Chan, in response to El’Yez’s suggestion, said: “We want to equip more teachers, reduce their workload a bit and have them take on some of these (counselling) duties because I think most of you are much more comfortable with your teachers because you know them much more intimately.”