'Teachers' inefficiency harming students'

Non-performing faculty and teaching staff in schools and colleges are a major reason for depression and mental health problems among students, said Justice N Kumar on Monday.

Justice Kumar, appointed by the Karnataka High Court exclusively to implement the Mental Health Act, 1987, was speaking at a seminar, ‘depression – a global crisis’, organised by National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (Nimhans) and Indian Psychiatric Society.

 Justice Kumar pointed out the loopholes in the education system and said, “Teachers and lecturers are not up to the mark in conducting examinations. The options of revaluation and re-totalling have emerged only due to incompetent faculty.”

Justice Kumar also said that parents’ expectation from their children and the latter’s inability to achieve, has also become another reason for depression. 

He suggested having more counsellors to help people cope with problems. To address the issue of lack of psychiatrists, he said that mental health should become a compulsory subject in the MBBS course.

Dr B N Gangadhar, head of Psychiatry, Nimhans and president of Indian Psychiatric Society (IPS), Karnataka, said there is a huge gap in the patient and psychiatrist ratio due to lack of resource persons.

“The Indian Medical Association (IMA) in Karnataka and IPS have joined hands in addressing the issue of lack of resource persons. A compulsory continued medical education (CME) once a year will be conducted to share knowledge,” he added.