TAIPEI (TVBS News) — The Ministry of Education (MOE) announced Saturday (Feb. 17) it has launched a pilot program to provide mental health leave for high school students starting in March.
As of Friday, 40 schools have expressed interest in participating in the program.
Details of the proposed regulations include requiring students to obtain consent from parents or caregivers before taking mental health leave.
If students wish to take leave before arriving at school, parents must notify the school and complete the leave process. If a student wants to take leave after arriving at school, the school must contact parents and obtain their consent.
To avoid controversy, the proposed rules do not allow for mental health leave during periods of regular academic assessment and make-up exams.
Moreover, mental health leave will not be counted as absenteeism, but students taking such leave will not be eligible for perfect attendance awards.
Universities have implemented mental health leave for some time, and so far 43 universities and five colleges have the measure in place this semester.
Students generally do not need to provide medical certificates to apply for such leaves.
The application procedures for mental health leave will be defined by the schools. Each leave should be half or one full day, and a maximum of three days leave is allowed per semester.
The MOE hopes that through the implementation of these mental health leaves, students can better understand their psychological conditions, drawing the attention of teachers and parents to the psychological status and needs of students.
