Legislator urges increased mental health screening efforts for schoolchildren

Jakarta – Vice Chair of the Indonesian People’s Consultative Assembly Lestari Moerdijat has called on the government to strengthen early detection efforts for mental health problems among schoolchildren to counter the threat of mental health disorders affecting the nation’s next generation.

“Collaborative steps by various relevant parties to comprehensively address the threat of mental health issues affecting schoolchildren must receive collective support,” Lestari said in a written statement received in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Previously, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin, on Monday (9 March), affirmed that his ministry is partnering with the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education to conduct early detection of mental health problems among schoolchildren.

This initiative is being carried out by equipping teachers with the capability to recognise early signs of mental health disorders in students.

According to Lestari, such training is very useful for enhancing teachers’ ability to detect students’ mental health issues.

With proper early detection, teachers can follow up on each finding to ensure treatment is delivered promptly.

Based on data from a Health Ministry survey conducted in early 2026 that Lestari possesses, approximately 5 per cent of Indonesian children and teenagers experience symptoms of mental disorders, particularly depression and anxiety.

More specifically, Lestari stated that 34.9 per cent of adolescents aged 10-17 years are at risk of experiencing mental health problems. However, of this number, only 2.6 per cent receive professional treatment.

Based on these figures, Lestari has emphasised that the ability to conduct early detection of students’ mental health must also be possessed by parents and teachers.

According to him, teachers who interact with students daily at school form the frontline in identifying mental health issues.

However, he continued, the role of parents who interact with children in the family environment is also important for detecting children’s mental health problems.

Therefore, he views efforts to enhance teachers’ and parents’ ability to conduct early detection of students’ mental health as the foundation of efforts to address the threat of mental health disorders affecting the nation’s future generation.

With this approach, he is confident that any mental health symptoms displayed by children at school or at home can be detected and acted upon promptly.