The right to mental health: A policy review on national policies of school-based mental health and wellbeing promotion in Indonesia

Physical and mental health are expected outcomes of national education, but the extent to which mental health is facilitated at schools is unclear in national policies. We reviewed school mental health policies to identify what frameworks are used and what actions are recommended for schools and governments to facilitate students’ rights to mental health at school. We searched national public policies from 2003-2023 through ministerial databases, Google, and Google Scholar using combinations of terms in Bahasa Indonesia (peraturan, pedoman, bimbingan, sekolah, sehat, mental, konseling, psikologis). Textual data synthesis was undertaken. Thirty-two documents (20 regulations, 12 guidelines/manuals) met the inclusion criteria. Most national policies mandate the Health-promoting School framework, to be implemented by the school health unit (Usaha Kesehatan Sekolah: UKS). UKS appear primarily focused on physical health, with a more recent appreciation of the need to invest more in mental health. The Universal and Whole-School approaches toward mental health and wellbeing have informed Trias-UKS, which encourages schools to focus on delivering health-education, providing a healthy school-environment, and facilitating support and services, whilst governments are expected to commit as developers, regulators, facilitators, and evaluators. The right to mental health in schools is warranted by laws through the health promoting school policies and the comprehensive school health framework. Provision of students’ rights to mental health at schools requires investments that facilitate actions from schools, governments, and communities.