12 Malaysian Schools Awarded for Pioneering Mental Health Innovations Amid Children’s Mental Health Crisis in Malaysia

Twelve schools from Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, and Terengganu have been named winners of the grassroots mental health transformation MINDSHIFT Competition, jointly delivered by LeapEd Services and Yayasan Hasanah to tackle the rising mental health crisis amongst Malaysian children. 

The schools were awarded a total of RM11,400 in prize money in recognition of their innovative, data-driven student wellbeing interventions.

The winning schools include : 

• Terengganu : SMK Kuala Jenderis, SK Sura, SMK Kijal, SK Bukit Payong 

• Melaka : SK Air Baruk, SMK Paya Rumput, SMK Bukit Baru, SK Tun Syed Ahmad Shahabudin 

• Negeri Sembilan : SK Pelangai, SK Sungala, SK Lavender Heights, SK Kampung Sawah 

Real Impact Starts in Schools: Measurable Change, Powerful Results

In Terengganu, SMK Kuala Jenderis’ “Juggek D’Bamboo”, which won the top prize, blended traditional music and natural elements to create a bamboo-based healing space where students could recharge both emotionally and physically. The awareness of the link between exercise and mental health jumped from 23% to 96%, and there was a 5% increase in students reporting that they felt happier coming to school.

 

 

Caption : SMK Kuala Jenderis’ “Juggek D’Bamboo” capitalised on bamboo-based traditional music and healing spaces to deliver health benefits. 

Melaka’s top school was SK Air Baruk’s “Let’s Move It” initiative—an energetic, student-led programme that transformed morning assemblies and classroom sessions into upbeat dance and aerobic workouts for the whole school. The results were striking: student understanding of the link between physical activity and mental health soared in just five months, from 68.42% in August 2024 to 97.12% by January 2025, marking a powerful cultural shift across the school.

 

Caption : SK Air Baruk’s “Let’s Move It” dance programme increased student understanding between physical activity and mental health. 

In Negeri Sembilan, SK Pelangai’s top prize-winning innovation was a student-led daily aerobic exercise programme named “Fun SPel” aimed at tackling absenteeism. Following its implementation, school attendance improved significantly—from 88% to 92%.

 

Caption : SK Pelangai’s “FunSpel” daily aerobic exercise reduced absenteeism. 

LeapEd Services Sdn Bhd’s Managing Director, Nina Adlan Disney said, “These schools have demonstrated that whole school interventions improve well-being, strengthen national resilience, and ensure educational equity. MINDSHIFT is a scalable model of how transformational social impact can be catalysed—school by school, child by child,” added Nina Disney, Managing Director, LeapEd. 

“With continued investment from impact-focused partners like Yayasan Hasanah, MINDSHIFT could expand into a scalable national model for early mental health intervention across Malaysian schools,” she added.

The MINDSHIFT Competition marked the culmination of the 15-month MINDSHIFT programme (April 2024 – July 2025) that empowered 71 schools selected by State Education Departments (JPN) and District Education Offices (PPD), and trained 198 teachers through workshops—including Senior Assistants for Student Affairs (PK HEMs), school counsellors, and key teaching staff to transform mental health and impacted more than 35,000 students.

Three workshops were conducted to strengthen teachers’ mental health literacy, raise legal awareness around child protection, and build their capacity to design context-specific health interventions.

A Nation in Crisis: From Awareness to Action

The MINDSHIFT programme was developed as an urgent solution to Malaysia’s alarming children’s mental health emergency. 

According to the quadrennial National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS), in 2023:

• 1 in 6 children in Malaysia experiences mental health challenges

• Mental health prevalence has doubled since 2019

• 46% of students face peer-related problems such as bullying, social isolation, or emotional withdrawal

(Source: NHMS 2023 Key Findings)

Dr Nur Anuar Bin Abdul Muthalib, Education Senior Director at Yayasan Hasanah, which funded the programme, said, “Based on the Department of Statistics Malaysia’s data, there are over 5.2 million students in our primary and secondary schools. If 1 in 6 of them are experiencing mental health challenges—it could mean that almost 1 million Malaysian children are facing distress today.”

“Addressing this crisis is not just a moral obligation—it is an economic, social, and national imperative. It directly aligns with Yayasan Hasanah’s mission to catalyse large-scale social impact and build a more inclusive, resilient, and progressive Malaysia. The consequences of inaction are well-documented: untreated childhood mental health issues lead to lower lifetime earnings, higher unemployment rates, and widening cycles of inequality. Early intervention—particularly through schools—is not only effective, it is essential to safeguarding our nation’s future.”

Initial findings from the MINDSHIFT programme highlight the potential to affect transformation:

• 80% increase in teacher awareness of holistic wellbeing (sleep, nutrition, emotional regulation, etc.)

• 60% of teachers now co-create wellbeing strategies with students

• 62% report high confidence in designing personalised interventions

• Student feedback from 380 participants shows higher school connectedness, emotional literacy, and willingness to seek help

Global research supports the urgency of developing solutions. The World Mental Health Surveys and OECD data show that early-onset mental disorders can lower adult income by up to 33%, with women disproportionately affected. The projected global cost of mental illness is set to surpass USD 6 trillion by 2030, reinforcing the need for prevention and systemic support at scale.

(Source: PubMed; NIH)

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