The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has directed all its affiliated schools to actively implement and promote the National Tele Mental Health Programme (Tele-MANAS) within school campuses. This move is aimed at ensuring that students across CBSE schools have round-the-clock access to professional, free, and confidential mental health services.In a recent circular, CBSE emphasised the need for wide dissemination of Tele-MANAS resources among students, staff, and parents. Schools have been instructed to prominently display helpline numbers and digital referral options in frequently accessed areas of the campus to normalise mental health help-seeking behaviour.Tele-MANAS offers round-the-clock support in 20 languagesTele-MANAS is a 24×7 national mental health helpline launched on October 10, 2022, offering support through trained mental health professionals. The service is currently available in 20 languages and operates through 53 dedicated cells across India. Since its launch, the programme has received and handled over 23 lakh calls.To enhance accessibility, Tele-MANAS has recently introduced a video consultation platform, allowing students to seek private, real-time interactions with mental health experts. Additionally, a mobile application is available in both Hindi and English, with more regional languages planned for future updates.CBSE instructs schools to display helpline informationCBSE has mandated the display of the Tele-MANAS helpline numbers — 14416 and 1800-891-4416 — along with a QR code for the app at locations frequently visited by students. These include noticeboards, classrooms, school lobbies, and counselling rooms.Furthermore, schools have been asked to include information about Tele-MANAS in student handbooks, newsletters, announcements during school assemblies, and parent-teacher meetings. This initiative is part of CBSE’s broader objective to make mental health support more visible, stigma-free, and youth-friendly.Schools to promote early identification and peer-led initiativesThe CBSE circular encourages schools to undertake age-appropriate and peer-led health promotion activities under existing programmes such as Samagra Shiksha and PM SHRI Schools. These initiatives are designed to promote early identification of mental health concerns, foster an empathetic response, and ensure that students have clear and accessible pathways to care.Involving students in peer engagement activities is seen as a method to reinforce resilience, enhance peer support, and facilitate open discussions around mental health topics in safe, school-based environments.Meanwhile, CBSE and AIIMS Delhi begin Project MATE trainingMeanwhile, CBSE, in collaboration with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, has launched the Project MATE (Mind Activation Through Education) training programme for school counsellors and wellness teachers. The training began on August 26, 2025, and is being held at AIIMS Delhi with approximately 50 participants from CBSE schools across the Delhi-NCR region.Project MATE is an adolescent wellness programme developed at AIIMS. It aims to enhance resilience, improve coping mechanisms, and promote meaningful peer connectivity through the concept of “MATE-5.” The five-day training is conducted by experts in psychiatry, psychology, and communication.Sessions cover the biopsychosocial model of health, anxiety management, nutrition, social roles, digital well-being, and the development of positive support systems. Outcomes from this pilot initiative will be monitored and refined for future nationwide rollout to strengthen the school counselling ecosystem.Through the Tele-MANAS helpline and Project MATE, CBSE continues its efforts to integrate mental health support within the school education framework.TOI Education is on WhatsApp now. Follow us here.
