Adjournment motion on strengthening the mental resilience of our young

Mental well-being, like literacy or numeracy, is too important to depend on individual school initiatives alone; we need a systematic and sustained approach. MP Charlene Chen, who made this call in an adjournment motion in parliament on Tuesday (Nov 4), proposed establishing a school mental well-being charter - a developmental accreditation framework that recognises schools embedding mental resilience into their curriculum, culture and community. The Ministry of Education (MOE) can provide national direction, resources and guardrails, while schools retain the autonomy to adapt approaches to their unique contexts and students’ needs. Responding, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education Syed Harun Alhabsyi said that while MOE does not have a charter-based approach, it has instituted systemic processes to achieve very similar outcomes. MOE will study the proposal very carefully and explore its feasibility, he added.