Even as various surveys conducted show that depression is common among teenagers in the city, they seem to be the most neglected lot if the ways of the Education department are anything to go by.

In spite of repeated assurances from the department that adequate counsellors will be provided in schools, the numbers seem to be falling short.

Months after Newsline had reported the shortage of counsellors in government schools, the picture remains dismal. While students of model schools are fortunate to have a counsellor to share their problems with, their non-model counterparts do not enjoy this facility.

According to guidelines issued by the Central Board of Secondary Education, schools should have full-time counsellors.

The objective is to provide a helping hand to students as adolescence is a crucial period in one’s life where anxieties and stress are commonplace.

Though the department has taken note of these instructions, some schools have only part-time counsellors.

“The counsellor visits the school only for two hours every day. There should be a psychotherapist present in the school at all times. Psychological problems are as vital as the physical ones. The department should do something in this regard,” said a teacher of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 32.

Director Public Instructions (Schools), Samwartak Singh, maintained that the department was “trying” its best to provide as many counsellors as possible.