No learning without well-being: Why mental health matters in postschool education and training

HANDS-ON Experience Learning July 2025 | Issue 30

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NO LEARNING WITHOUT WELL-BEING: WHY MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS IN POSTSCHOOL EDUCATION AND TRAINING

This learning brief draws on the experience of DGMT’s implementing partners that offer psychosocial and mental health support services to students attending Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges in a range of settings, from rural to peri-urban and urban environments. The goal of these programmes is to support students’ workplace-based learning, reduce dropout rates and ultimately improve labour market absorption rates.

NO LEARNING WITHOUT WELL-BEING: WHY MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS IN POST-SCHOOL EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Issue 30 /// July 2025

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No learning without well-being: Why mental health matters in postschool education and training

Published on Jul 4, 2025

DG Murray Trust

Mental health is shaped from before birth onwards by a constellation of socio-economic factors, including poverty and inequality. In South Africa, where nearly 70% of children live below the upper-bound poverty line of R55 a day, poverty results not merely in unmet needs but in sustained deprivation affecting mental health. International research shows that children from families with higher incomes often do better in areas like language development, self-control and socio-emotional skills, which can help manage stress and serve as a buffer against anxiety and depression. There is a significant need for accessible mental health services in South Africa, but the public health system has been unable to keep up with demand in under-resourced areas. Consequently, 75 out of every 100 people who need help are not getting it. This problem is compounded by limited funding, with only 8% of the country’s mental health budget allocated to primary healthcare,3 where early detection and intervention can prevent more seve

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No learning without well-being: Why mental health matters in postschool education and training by DG Murray Trust - Issuu