KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 19 (Bernama) — Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology (TAR UMT) will organise a national forum titled ‘Student Mental Health and Emotional Resilience in Schools’ on Nov 22.
The forum, scheduled from 10 am to 12.30 pm at the Auditorium, Tun Tan Siew Sin building, TAR UMT Kuala Lumpur Campus, is part of the university’s Safe School Integration 2.0 initiative, aimed at strengthening students’ psychological well-being and enhancing school safety through evidence-based, interdisciplinary approaches.
Associate Prof Datuk Dr Monna Ong Siew Siew, lead researcher for Safe School 2.0, said the forum will focus on three key areas, namely, strengthening counselling systems and emotional support for teachers, enhancing digital safety against technological threats such as deepfakes, and streamlining school governance and community collaboration.
She noted that Malaysia is facing a systemic crisis in students’ psychological well-being, requiring comprehensive reforms at both policy and implementation levels.
“Safe School 2.0 is not merely about tightening discipline, but about upholding human values, empathy and prevention grounded in scientific approaches. Every student has the right to dignified physical protection and emotional safety,” she said.
The forum, conducted in English with optional use of Malay and Chinese, will feature panellists from educational psychology, adolescent mental health, school counselling and educational leadership, with Associate Prof Dr Lim Chia Yien serving as moderator.
Ong said the Safe School Integration 2.0 framework was developed in collaboration with Universiti Malaya, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, and several private universities and Islamic educational institutions.
It integrates psychological education, mental health support, early risk detection, rehabilitation and data-based monitoring in line with United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) standards.
TAR UMT has invited school principals, teachers, counsellors, community leaders, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), parents and others committed to student well-being to attend the free forum, with registration via the official poster QR code or at https://forms.gle/MXSV2mKPLqWQrQhu9.
— BERNAMA