MENTAL HEALTH, WELL-BEING AND THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION: A HUMAN RIGHTS-BASED PATHWAY TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Mental health and well-being is getting recognized as one of the central aspects of human development as well as the precondition of the essential adherence of the basic rights, especially the right to an education. School environments have a great part to play in supporting the development of mental health by either encouraging flexibility, social scale, and self-development or, on the contrary, creating stress, anxiety, and psychological disturbances. This chapter explores the connection between mental health and well-being and the right to education through human rights lens in an effort to describe their overall importance to sustainable development. It is predicted that, conceptualised as an inevitable part of human rights in the education settings, mental health is analysed as a dominant issue that influences the positive mental outcomes; and, conversely, the inclusive and unbiased education systems are assessed as the determinants of favourable mental-health outcomes. The chapter also addresses such issues as fair access to education, the socialization process, and the responsibility of states and institutions towards the welfare of learners and their mental health. The chapter highlights the importance of rights-based policies in education that are necessary to ensure equitable access to high-quality education while ensuring psychological well-being by linking mental-health promotion in education with the Sustainable Development Goals, especially SDG 3 and SDG 4.