Teachers or viral motivational speakers? Who is qualified to counsel children

Scene 1
A social media influencer arrives for a grand welcome for the inauguration of a firm in Malappuram. Hundreds of teenagers, including school children, bunk their classes and show up at the event to see the influencer and get his autograph. The national highway gets blocked due to the huge crowds, and the police are forced to file a case against the organisers.

Scene 2
A well-known school in Kerala roped in a renowned motivational speaker to deliver a session, spending more than Rs 50,000. The students were visibly distressed and began crying after attending a two-day session that combined hypnotism and mentalism. The motivational speaker apparently prides himself on making the students cry. The teachers had to try hard to calm and revive the students who had lost their confidence and were emotionally and mentally shattered. 

Who is responsible?
The schools in Kerala have become the perfect breeding ground for social media influencers, motivational speakers and mentalists. There are even schools that collect money from students to pay for these celebrities. Motivational speakers confidently handle complex cases of mental stress and anxiety that require intervention from a psychologist or a psychiatrist. Most of them lack formal training or qualifications in child psychology or teaching methodologies. They instead rely on advanced audio-visual presentations featuring drone shots and exciting light-and-sound shows. 

Their focus is on the thrill of the show rather than on in-depth knowledge of the matter. You understand the consequences of such practises only when you hear news of motivational speakers getting booked under the POCSO Act. Most schools conduct such classes without getting approval from the general education department. The public, government and the school authorities shouldn’t create opportunities for such sexual predators to trap victims. 

Loopholes
There are lots of school students who suffer from severe mental and emotional crises.  Although there are psycho–social counsellors at schools and friendly coordinators at higher secondary levels, none of these materialises into effective professional help. The rising nature of drug addiction, violence and suicidal tendencies among school children exposes the inadequacies of the system. Self-proclaimed social media influencers and motivational speakers exploit these loopholes to creep into such spaces. 

There are influencers who motivate young children by saying that making money is more important than learning. It was recently that a man who urged children to watch YouTube videos to learn instead of going to school got arrested for leaking question papers. 

This write-up doesn't intend to claim that all motivational speakers are frauds. Classes taught by qualified trainers with professional ethics could be beneficial for children to some extent. However, such training projects should be designed for students and teachers, not from outside the system.

Teachers are the real motivators
Teachers often know the students' social, personal, and family backgrounds. So, each teacher should become the child’s friend, confidante, counsellor and motivator. But teachers fail to recognise this responsibility and roll out the red carpet for social media celebrities. Last year, a headmaster was suspended for inviting a motivational speaker who was an accused in a POCSO case as the chief guest of the praveshanotsavam (welcoming newcomers) at the school.  

Classes that backfire
The excise department is conducting an anti-drug awareness class at a school. They are using PPT slides to explain the harmful effects of various drugs. Meanwhile, a student stands up and says, ‘Sir, these were shown in the last class too. Tell us if there are new items.’ While taking classes against drugs, cybercrimes and ragging, the trainer often adds his own opinions, observations and conclusions, if there is no proper aim, methodology and modules. In rare cases, such incidents can turn into the glorification of things that the trainer is supposed to oppose. So, the concerned departments and school authorities need to be careful while choosing trainers to handle such sensitive topics. 

Solutions
•A qualified full-time counsellor should be appointed at all high schools and higher secondary schools. Currently, the quality of such services cannot be fully assured because the appointments are temporary. 
•Teachers should be trained in child psychology with the help of experts and doctors from NIMANS, IMANS and the medical colleges. 
•Child psychology, classroom management and crisis management too should be included besides respective subjects in teacher training programs. 

•The general education department should formulate proper guidelines regarding counselling and conducting motivational classes. Background checks on the trainers should be conducted rigorously to ensure they are qualified professionals. 
•Collecting money from students to pay the motivational speaker should be strictly banned. The school authorities should be given proper directives regarding this. 
(The writer is former research officer at NCERT and a Fullbright fellow.)