‘They’re barely hanging on’: Teenagers reflect on mental health amid COVID-19 pandemic While some hope the return to the classroom will better student welfare, Nam says that will only be the case if mental health is integrated into the syllabus alongside algebra and Shakespeare.“The only thing that a pandemic did in relation to mental health was really reveal the cracks in the system,” says Nam, the executive director of youth advocacy group the Reclamation Project.“We have to take physical education… I think learning about mental and emotional health is just as important.”Mental health literacy must be at the top of the agenda as students return to school, say experts, calling for emotional skills to be taught as a core part of curricula.