- Astiba Kebong’o says schools must learn to recognise emotional distress before learners reach crisis point.
- She argues that counselling, teacher awareness and parental support should become part of everyday school life.
- As World Suicide Prevention Day approaches, schools are being urged to replace stigma and silence with timely support.
September provides an important opportunity for schools and communities to confront a subject that remains difficult to discuss but can no longer be pushed into the shadows: suicide prevention.
For the education sector, suicide prevention should not be confined to posters, assemblies or a once-a-year awareness campaign. It should become part of a wider commitment to protecting learners, supporting teachers and promoting emotional wellbeing within the school community.
The statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO) are sobering. WHO estimates that more than 720,000 people die by suicide every year globally. Suicide was the third leading cause of death among people aged 15–29 in 2021, demonstrating why young people must remain at the centre of prevention efforts.
These figures should compel schools to look beyond academic performance and pay attention to the emotional wellbeing of those entrusted to their care.
A school is more than classrooms, examinations, sports fields and co-curricular activities. It is a community where young people develop friendships, confront challenges, discover themselves and prepare for adulthood.
Some learners navigate these experiences successfully. Others struggle quietly.
The learner who appears cheerful in class may be carrying an invisible burden. A previously enthusiastic student may suddenly withdraw. A promising learner may lose concentration, become frequently absent or stop participating in activities they once enjoyed.
Such changes should not automatically be dismissed as laziness, indiscipline or ordinary teenage behaviour.
Sometimes, they are signs that someone needs to be heard.
One issue that deserves particular attention is the relationship between harmful alcohol and drug use and emotional distress.
Alcohol and other substances can affect judgement, self-control and decision-making. They can also intensify existing emotional difficulties and make it harder for a vulnerable person to cope with distress.
For some young people, substance use may begin as curiosity, experimentation, peer influence or an attempt to escape academic pressure, family difficulties, rejection, grief or relationship problems. What appears to be a temporary escape can gradually develop into a serious problem affecting behaviour, relationships, health and education.
WHO recognises alcohol-use disorders and other forms of emotional and social distress among factors associated with suicide risk.
This does not mean that every learner who uses substances will contemplate suicide. It means that harmful substance use should be treated seriously, particularly when it occurs alongside isolation, hopelessness or other signs of emotional distress.
Schools have a responsibility to maintain discipline and protect learners from harmful substances. However, punishment alone may not address the reasons behind the behaviour.
A learner struggling with substance use may require counselling, parental involvement, professional assessment, rehabilitation where appropriate and continued support.
Correction and compassion should work together.
A school can maintain firm standards while helping a learner understand the consequences of harmful choices and develop healthier ways of coping.
Public humiliation and stigmatising labels, on the other hand, can drive problems further underground.
Teachers are important observers
Teachers may not be mental-health specialists, but they are often among the adults best placed to notice changes in learners.
A sudden decline in academic performance, withdrawal from friends, persistent sadness, unusual aggression, frequent absenteeism, loss of interest in normal activities or expressions of hopelessness should prompt appropriate concern.
No single sign automatically means that a learner is suicidal. However, significant changes should not simply be ignored.
A teacher can begin with a simple question:
“I have noticed that you seem different lately. Is something troubling you?”
The teacher does not have to solve the entire problem. The responsibility is to listen, take the learner seriously, avoid judgement and connect them with appropriate support.
Stigma remains a major barrier to seeking help.
Some learners fear that admitting they are struggling will make them appear weak. Others fear ridicule from classmates or anger from adults. Consequently, they conceal their difficulties.
Schools need to deliberately create an environment where seeking counselling is viewed as a responsible step rather than a sign of failure.
Guidance and counselling should not be reserved only for learners who have already developed serious problems. It should form part of a preventive school culture that equips young people with skills for managing pressure, relationships, disappointment and difficult emotions.
Confidentiality requires wisdom
There is an important distinction between confidentiality and secrecy.
If a learner discloses suicidal thoughts or an intention to harm themselves, an adult should not promise absolute secrecy. The learner’s safety must come first.
Depending on the circumstances, appropriate safeguarding procedures may require involving the school counsellor, parent or guardian, school administration or a qualified health professional.
At the same time, sensitive information must be handled with discretion. A learner’s disclosure should never become staffroom gossip or classroom entertainment.
If young people believe that speaking honestly will expose them to humiliation, many will choose silence.
Suicide prevention should not focus exclusively on learners.
Teachers also experience professional and personal pressures. Academic expectations, examinations, learner discipline, administrative responsibilities, workplace relationships and challenges outside school can affect emotional wellbeing.
A teacher who is struggling should not be expected to suffer silently simply because they are an adult.
School leadership should encourage appropriate professional support and cultivate a workplace culture in which seeking assistance is regarded as responsible rather than weak.
Colleagues also have a role to play.
Sometimes the person who needs a listening ear is not sitting in the counselling office but standing beside us in the staffroom.
Parents are indispensable partners
The school cannot carry this responsibility alone.
Parents and guardians should create homes where children can discuss difficult experiences without immediately fearing condemnation.
A poor examination result, broken friendship, personal mistake or difficult season should not convince a child that parental love has disappeared.
Listening does not mean abandoning parental authority. Parents can maintain boundaries while reassuring their children:
“Whatever you are going through, you can talk to me.”
That assurance can become a powerful source of protection.
Young people often confide in friends before approaching adults.
Learners should therefore be taught how to respond when a friend expresses extreme distress or talks about suicide or self-harm.
The appropriate response is not to laugh, dismiss the disclosure or promise to keep it secret. A trusted adult should be informed promptly.
A young person should never be expected to carry another person’s crisis alone.
Schools must build prevention systems
Suicide prevention should be embedded in the everyday life of the institution.
Schools can strengthen guidance and counselling services, train teachers to recognise concerning changes, establish clear referral pathways, engage parents, address bullying, educate learners about substance misuse and promote healthy coping skills.
Kenya’s education system also needs stronger collaboration among schools, families, health professionals, government agencies, faith communities and other relevant partners.
NACADA provides a free 24-hour helpline, 1192, for counselling and referrals relating to alcohol and drug abuse. Such services should be made known to learners, teachers and parents as part of a broader culture of early help-seeking.
Where there is an immediate danger to life or a medical emergency, urgent emergency assistance should be sought.
The message to learners and teachers should not be dominated by fear.
There must also be hope.
For faith-based school communities, Scripture can provide an additional source of encouragement. Psalm 34:18 reminds us: “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.”
Such spiritual encouragement can be valuable, but it should complement professional assistance rather than replace it when someone is experiencing serious emotional distress or is at immediate risk.
Seeking professional help is not a sign of weakness. It is a responsible step towards safety and recovery.
From awareness to action
The impact of suicide-prevention awareness should not be measured by the number of posters displayed on school noticeboards.
The real measure is whether learners become more willing to speak, teachers become more prepared to listen, parents become more approachable and schools become better equipped to respond.
We must move from awareness to action.
Let us stop dismissing emotional distress as mere attention-seeking. Let us stop treating counselling as a punishment. Let us challenge the stigma surrounding substance-use problems. Let us equip teachers and learners with the knowledge to recognise when something is wrong.
Above all, let us create school communities where people feel seen, heard and valued.
A poor grade is not the end of life. A broken relationship is not the end of the road. Family conflict does not determine a person’s entire future. A mistake does not erase human worth.
Let us listen before we label, intervene before a crisis deepens and offer hope before despair becomes overwhelming.
READ ALSO:
Sometimes prevention begins with one simple act: noticing that someone is struggling — and caring enough to ask.
There is help. There is hope. And no learner or teacher should have to face overwhelming pain alone.
By Astiba Kebong’o
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