Twelve schools from Melaka, Negeri Sembilan and Terengganu have been recognised for their innovative approaches to supporting student mental health through the grassroots MINDSHIFT Competition, jointly organised by LeapEd Services and Yayasan Hasanah.
The schools shared a total of RM11,400 in prize money for their data-driven interventions aimed at improving student wellbeing.
Among the winners was SMK Kuala Jenderis in Terengganu, which took the top prize with its Juggek D’Bamboo project. The initiative combined traditional bamboo music and nature-based spaces to create a healing environment for students. The school reported a dramatic rise in mental health awareness, with students recognising the benefits of exercise increasing from 23% to 96%, alongside improved happiness levels at school.
In Melaka, SK Air Baruk won top honours for its Let’s Move It programme, which turned assemblies and classroom sessions into aerobic workouts and dance activities. Within five months, student understanding of the link between physical activity and mental health surged from 68% to 97%.
Meanwhile, SK Pelangai in Negeri Sembilan addressed absenteeism through its Fun SPel daily aerobic routine, which successfully boosted attendance from 88% to 92%.
“These schools have demonstrated that whole school interventions improve well-being, strengthen national resilience, and ensure educational equity,” said Nina Adlan Disney, Managing Director of LeapEd Services. “With continued investment from partners like Yayasan Hasanah, MINDSHIFT has the potential to grow into a national model for early mental health intervention.”
The competition marked the culmination of the 15-month MINDSHIFT programme, which engaged 71 schools nationwide, trained nearly 200 teachers—including counsellors and senior student affairs assistants—and reached more than 35,000 students. Teachers received training in mental health literacy, child protection, and designing school-based health interventions.
The initiative comes against the backdrop of alarming national data. The National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2023 found that one in six Malaysian children struggles with mental health challenges, with prevalence rates doubling since 2019. Nearly half of students face peer-related issues such as bullying and social isolation.
“If one in six of Malaysia’s 5.2 million students are struggling, that could mean nearly one million children are in distress today,” said Dr Nur Anuar Bin Abdul Muthalib, Education Senior Director at Yayasan Hasanah. “Addressing this is not just a moral obligation—it is an economic and national imperative.”
Early findings from MINDSHIFT show promising results:
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Teacher awareness of holistic wellbeing increased by 80%.
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60% of teachers now co-create wellbeing strategies with students.
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62% reported higher confidence in tailoring mental health interventions.
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Student surveys indicated greater emotional literacy and connectedness at school.
Global studies underscore the urgency of such initiatives. The OECD and World Mental Health Surveys have found that early mental health disorders can reduce adult income by up to 33%, while the economic cost of mental illness is projected to exceed USD 6 trillion globally by 2030.
By empowering schools to become frontline agents of change, organisers hope that the MINDSHIFT model will set the foundation for wider systemic solutions to Malaysia’s growing youth mental health crisis.