Noman Mosharef :
A family feels burden when a girl stays at home for more than one and a half years. The family faces huge pressure for marriage from society as well as relatives. It is a hard time for any girl to continue the study. I feel broken in mentally when I heard about my marriage. In my mind one question was whirling that if I get married then what will happen to my study? Is my dream going to end? A Dhaka University (DU) student Salsabila Ahmed from Department of Economics shared this experience.
Not only Salsabila, a report done by Aanchal Foundation said 7 per cent more girl students have been suffering mental illness rather than male students during the pandemic.
About 999 male and 1,552 female students participated in the survey conducted by Aanchal Foundation. The survey further said about 84.6 per cent students has been suffered mental stress during the corona period. College of Home Economics student Sadia Afrin’s experience during Covid-19 is almost the same. She stated, when college authorities announced hall vacant, and then I went to home. After online class started I could not attend the class due to internate problem, which made me disappointed. When I contacted with my friends they said their families also pressurized them for marriage. Though my family did not pressure me for marriage, I felt stress over the issue.
Non-governmental Organisation (NGO) Aanchal Foundation, who works for mental health, conducted the survey titled ‘Mental Disaster of University Students in Corona’. The survey, conducted from September 12 to 26, polled 2,552 students from 92 colleges and universities across the country. About 61 per cent of the students are female. There was only one person of the third sex. The students ranged in age from 18 to 28 but most of them were between 18 and 23 years. According to the survey, 84.6 per cent of students are suffering from various mental problems, including depression.
More than 84 per cent of the college and university students in the country are suffering from mental problems during the Corona time. About 75 per cent of these students have lost interest in the study. This trend was more prevalent among the students staying in the villages by this time. Female students have more mental problems.
In recent months, there have been students’ suicide incidents in different parts of the country. The issue has played a significant role in conducting the survey, said Tansen Rose, the founding president of Aanchal Foundation. The number of suicides has also increased at this time.
According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), suicide increased by 17.36 per cent during the first wave of coronavirus surge. According to some non-governmental organizations, the number of suicides has increased by 44 to 45 per cent during this period as compared to other times.
BBS data shows, 11,259 people committed suicide in 2020 while the figure was 9,310 in the previous year. According to the government, the number of suicides has increased by 17.31 per cent during the Corona period.
Aanchal Foundation General Secretary Samira Akter Siam said they wonder why so many students are committing suicide in the Corona situation. Her advice to solve mental health problems is to appoint psychologists in every educational institution, launch a national hotline service on psychiatry and take various initiatives to raise awareness.
Experts advise teachers, students and families to be aware of the new environment of the educational institution.
Nafiza Ferdousi, an assistant professor in the Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology at Dhaka University, said now there are mental health services for students everywhere. If someone can’t adapt to the new environment, they can get help from there if they want. At the same time, we have to work to raise awareness at the grassroots level as well as at the union level. If teachers, students, families – everyone is aware, we will be able to overcome this problem gradually. ‘
