CBSE, NCERT and UNESCO join hands to expand school health, wellness programme to 30,000 schools

New Delhi [India], July 26 (ANI): UNESCO, in partnership with CBSE and NCERT, conducted the eleventh capacity-building workshop under the School Health and Wellness Programme (SHWP) in New Delhi this week, according to the official statement.

This workshop forms a key part of the national strategy to expand the cadre of Master Trainers who will implement the programme across 30,000 CBSE-affiliated schools, with the goal of reaching 15 million adolescent learners nationwide.

In June and July 2025, over 290 school principals, leaders, and educators from 22 states and 5 union territories, including Andhra Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Odisha, Puducherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal, participated in the workshop.

According to the release, Anandrao V Patil, IAS, Additional Secretary, DoSEL, Ministry of Education, emphasised the importance of mental health, gender equality, and inclusive education in achieving the holistic vision of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. You are changemakers. Never forget that, he said, reinforcing the role of education in shaping responsible and empathetic individuals.

According to the release, Prof. Dinesh Prasad Saklani, Director of NCERT, commended the collaborative efforts of CBSE, UNESCO, and NCERT in organising the workshop. Reflecting on the importance of understanding adolescents more deeply, Prof Dinesh Prasad Saklani emphasised that when underlying issues in a student family go unnoticed, teachers may respond differently without realising the context. He noted that this is why such training is critical, as it helps educators recognise challenges and work towards achievable goals.

Health and education are not separate goals; they are interlinked foundations for equity, dignity, and opportunity. Every wellness session, every teacher trained, every child heard, it a step toward systems that put learners at the centre, said Tim Curtis, Director of UNESCO South Asia Regional Office.

Under the leadership of NCERT and with support from UNESCO, a 24-hour curriculum, training modules, and facilitator guides were developed to support implementation. In addition, UNESCO and NCERT have co-developed animation videos and a comic book based on the 11 themes of the School Health and Wellness Programme, including emotional well-being and mental health, gender equality, reproductive health, and responsible internet use. These resources, available in English, Hindi, and nine Indian languages.

Launched in February 2020 under the Government of India Ayushman Bharat initiative, the School Health and Wellness Programme (SHWP) adopts a holistic approach to student well-being through education that focuses on prevention and promotion. Since August 2022, 970 Master Trainers have been trained through eleven intensive five-day workshops held at NCERT.

These trainers are now leading implementation in their schools and supporting the 1training of others through CBSE Centres of Excellence. To date, over 40,000 teachers have been trained via 754 Capacity Building Programmes, as per the release. (ANI)

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