Odisha: Workshop organised to train teachers on nutrition & mental wellbeing of tribal students

A four-day workshop was organised in Odisha’s capital from January 3 to January 6 to train the academic faculty of Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) and ensure the implementation of dedicated efforts needed to uplift the students from the tribal communities in the coastal state. The workshop focused on improving the mental health and nutritional status of students from the tribal communities.

A joint effort between the National Education Society for Tribal Students (NESTS), an autonomous organisation under the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA), and the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) led to the organisation of the workshop in Bhubaneswar.

As per a press release issued by the Press Information Bureau on January 5, in the first batch, 54 participants were nominated from 27 different EMRSs across Odisha who were trained on nutrition and mental health.

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Speaking on the occasion, Renuka Singh Saruta, Minister of State in the tribal affairs ministry, stressed that the principals and teachers in EMRS who interact with students on daily basis need to be motivated and trained in various aspects of health well-being, so that they can impart the best practices and can collectively make our tribal youth healthy and wise.

“A training workshop like this will go a long way in addressing the needs of tribal students and reach out to all EMRSs in India, and impart this training to the respective principals and teachers for the betterment of the students. This exercise will build public health institutional capacity in India through interdisciplinary health systems connecting education and training,” the press statement mentioned.