Some 18 percent of primary school children in Beijing were suffering mental problems in 2002, 10 percent higher than two decades ago, according to officials.

Nationwide, some 16 percent of elementary school students have tendencies toward mental illnesses, the Beijing Youth Daily reported.

About 30 million Chinese teenagers under the age of 17 suffer some degree of psychological problem, the Chinese Ministry of Health announced last month.

Last year, the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Youth League of China and three related departments launched a program to help the city's youth overcome their problems. It involves lectures, parent and counselor training, mental health education evaluations and a handful of other activities.

Twenty-five lectures on how to educate children have been presented to some 8,500 parents over the past year, while another 17 lectures given by college student volunteers attracted 7,000 middle school attendees.

China Daily reports that the program is now making its way into schools for migrant workers' children.

At present, there are about 240,000 children staying with parents who have come to Beijing seeking work.

"Apart from granting financial support to these struggling schools," said Zhang Hong, a committee official, "we should show more concern about their students' mental health."

(Xinhua News Agency May 26, 2004)