Higher education department starts 24x7 counselling helpline for college students - Hindustan Times
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Higher education department starts 24x7 counselling helpline for college students

Gurugram | BySadia Akhtar
Aug 02, 2019 10:43 PM IST

Started on a pilot basis last month, the helpline—18003132023— will cater to the students of four colleges in the state.

In an initiative that seeks to provide guidance to students grappling with mental health concerns, the department of higher education of the state has started a round-the-clock helpline for providing psychological support, career counselling and mentoring of college students in collaboration with an online counselling and emotional support platform.

Started on a pilot basis last month, the helpline—18003132023— will cater to the students of four colleges in the state.(Hindustan Times)
Started on a pilot basis last month, the helpline—18003132023— will cater to the students of four colleges in the state.(Hindustan Times)

Started on a pilot basis last month, the helpline—18003132023— will cater to the students of four colleges in the state. Two out of the four colleges are in Gurugram (Government Girls College in Sector 14 and Government College in Sector 9), one in Faridabad (Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru Government College), and one in Panchkula (Government PG College). The initiative was started last month with orientation sessions for students in these four colleges.

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Vijay Adlakha, principal of Government Girls College, Sector 14, said that students were apprised about the functioning of the helpline and the online resource centre through an orientation programme. “Students can discuss their personal problems with experts by reaching out to them through the online platform. They were informed about the ways of using the helpline as a resource tool through an orientation session,” said Adlakha.

While the sessions in the three colleges in Gurugram and Panchkula were conducted in July itself, students in the Faridabad college will be introduced to the helpline on August 6.

“The helpline is meant to tackle the myriad problems that students typically face. Their concerns could be related to education or mental health issues like depression or physical health issues. They will be able to discuss matters of family discord, relationship issues or anything else that is bothering them,” said Satyamanyu Yadav, principal, Government College in Sector 9. Currently, the college does not have any counselling centre on the campus.

The initiative has been launched on a pilot basis for now and based on the extent of benefit it provides to students, its scope will be widened to cover other colleges in the state. Presently, only students belonging to the four colleges can log in to the online support system to book appointments with counsellors.

“While anyone can call on the number, the platform can only be accessed by students of the selected four colleges of the state. Students need to log in and register on the platform if they want to book an appointment with the psychologist or chat online,” said Rakesh Kumar, account manager of Yourdost, the online counselling service, which has been roped in by the department.

Kumar said that the service would focus on career and academic counselling, mental well-being, sexual wellness, relationships and time management.

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