Wednesday | 15 January 2025 | Reg No- 06
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Wednesday | 15 January 2025 | Epaper

Unemployment and frustration lead to student suicide!

Published : Tuesday, 1 March, 2022 at 12:00 AM  Count : 1125
Md Zillur Rahaman
Suicide is a terrible crime and a mental disorder. Suicide is a great sin not only in Islam but also a heinous act in the society. Many people choose to commit suicide instead of accepting natural death due to family and social degradation. Extreme frustration works when anxiety, inquietude, restlessness and mental anguish and economic misery increase in people. Frustration creates negative perceptions within oneself and at one stage people lose confidence. Feeling they have 'run out of life' emotionally, that's when people choose the path of suicide.

Those who do so are identified as suicidal or suicidal. Among the youngsters, frustration and depression are rampant due to various reasons including sitting at home due to the restrictions of COVID-19, stagnation in educational institutions and finally lack of suitable job in the present context. Many people, including psychologists, are repeatedly saying such things. The recent alarming trend of suicide in the country and the analysis of its possible causes are being brought to the fore by psychologists.

The Anchal Foundation, a social and voluntary organization, conducted a study last year to find out the cause of suicide. According to the research report, in 2021, 101 students committed suicide in higher education institutions including universities in Bangladesh. Among them, 65 students, i.e., 64.36 percent of the students who committed suicide and it is nearly twice as many students committed suicide last year than female students.

Analyzing the suicide reports of about 50 national and local newspapers in Bangladesh, the foundation said that in 2021, the suicide rate of boys has increased more than that of girls as compared to 2020. Among them, 24.75 percent students committed suicide due to relationship problems, 19.80 percent due to family problems, 10.89 percent due to study related issues, 4.95 percent due to financial problems and 15.85 percent due to mental anguish. Among the reasons for suicide, 1.98 percent have become addicted to drugs and have chosen the path of killing their lives indiscriminately and another 21.78 percent students have committed suicide for various reasons.

The study also found that the highest number of suicides occurred among public university students, at 61.39 percent, or 62 percent. In addition, 12 people in medical colleges and universities, which is 11.88 percent of the total suicides, 4 in engineering university, which is 3.96 percent of the total suicides. On the other hand, the suicide rate of students of private universities is 22.77 percent, which is 23 in number. Last year, 9 students of Dhaka University committed suicide. Besides, 6 students in Jagannath University, 5 students in Shahjalal University of Science and Technology and 4 students in Rajshahi University. Daffodil University has the highest number of suicides among private university students, at 3. Such a high suicide rate among the students of the country's top universities is undoubtedly an alarming and concerning picture.

According to the media reports, on January 3, 2022, the body of a student named Anik Chakma of the 2018-19 academic year of the Department of Marine Science of Chittagong University was found hanging with a ceiling fan. Police initially thought Anik had committed suicide. An 8-page note was recovered from his room, and his classmates reported that Anik was mentally depressed because the family was financially indigent and did not have the desired job.

On the other hand, in October 2021, the police recovered the body of Adnan Shakib, a student of International Relations Department of DU 2014-15 session from Segunbagicha in the capital. It is learned that after recovering the body, he was frustrated as he did not get the desired job and out of such frustration he chose the path of suicide. News of such suicides often makes headlines due to unemployment and frustration.

The Anchal Foundation analyzed the data and found that the suicide rate among third and fourth year honours students was relatively high at 36.63 percent. These students are thought to have higher career-cantered social pressures and are more prone to frustration due to future uncertainties. Studies have shown that 22-25 year olds are more prone to suicide. According to the coordinated data, 60 suicides occurred among students in this age group, accounting for 59.41 percent of the total cases. On the other hand, suicides among 18-21 year olds accounted for 26.73 percent of the total or 27 cases.

In addition, the rates for the age group of 26-29 years and above 29 years are 9.90 percent and 3.96 percent respectively, which is 10 and 4 in number respectively. Although the suicide rate is generally higher among female students, this year's coordinated data shows that a large number of students committed suicide last year. A total of 65 students committed suicide, which is 64.36 percent of the total students. On the other hand, in the case of female students, the number was 36 or 35.64 percent. Psychologists believe that increased social, financial, and family stress in COVID-19 may have been a major factor in student suicide.

Nowadays suicides are happening more often and get headlines. Especially young people in higher education are more involved in this trend. At the same time, high-ranking officials, intellectuals, artists, workers, day labourers, businessmen commit suicide due to mental disorders. About one million people worldwide commit suicide each year. According to the World Health Organization, more than ten thousand people step on this path every year in the country.

According to the organization, Bangladesh ranks thirteenth in the world in terms of suicides and about one billion people in the world suffer from mental illness due to suicidal thoughts. On 18 February 2021, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) presented a alarming report. The whole year 2020 was the year of the outbreak of COVID-19 and never before has there been so many deaths and epidemics around the world.

According to the BBS, between January and September 2020, 5,002 people died of COVID-19 but surprisingly, 11,000 people have committed suicide in those nine months. This means that the suicide rate is twice as high as that of COVID-19. On the other hand, according to the Bangladesh Police, this trend was also alarming in previous years. More than 11,000 people committed suicide in 2018, 11,095 people in Bangladesh in 2017, 10,600 people in 2016 and 10,500 people in 2015. Dividing that figure daily, an average of 30 people commit suicide every day and undoubtedly it was alarming.

The present age is the age of science and technology. Therefore, new reasons have been added to the tendency of suicide. Differences in the mental characteristics of individuals in particular can also lead to suicide. Despite the increasing complexity of daily life and the increasing addiction of people to technology, the tendency to commit suicide has not changed much. When people's places of trust and confidence weaken, people feel helpless and at one stage commit suicide.

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death among 15 to 29 year-olds worldwide. Those who are mentally weak, have endurance and endurance who suffer from low fatigue and harassment and are endangered by not being able to tolerate any sudden change. In many cases, stress is the leading cause of suicide. Unable to cope with the pressure, the man chose this path to escape from life.

The Anchal Foundation recommends ten proposals to protect students' mental health and prevent suicide. Appropriate mental health services can be ensured by recruiting mental health professionals at each district and upazila level and bringing the youth organizations under proper training. Reducing the suicide rate by involving the youth in the policy-making dialogue and bringing mental health services to the highest level in the country. Incorporate mental health issues and services into primary health care. Incorporate mental health lessons from elementary school to university level to eradicate mental health prejudices and inferiority complex.

Introduce a national hotline service on an emergency basis to provide mental health care. To make mental healthcare more accessible, the government can launch special apps so that anyone can quickly seek the advice of a psychologist. Provide training on basic mental health to the health workers of the community clinics at the marginal level and provide mental health first aid training to the youth. To organize various campaigns simultaneously in government and non-government initiatives to increase the individual, family and social awareness in protecting the mental health of the students. Strengthen the role of mass media and social media in raising awareness and reduce the cost of psychiatric counselling fees and medicines.

Mental problems can happen to any human being. Mental illness is caused by changes in the amount of certain chemicals in the brain. With the right kind of treatment, the disease can be cured or controlled. But being forced to be alone, quitting a job, stopping earning, poverty, not being able to find people with love, etc. have a negative effect on our brain. There are many people who endure all this but move forward on the path of life. But not everyone's brain can withstand that stress, and this extra stress causes the brain to vary in the amount of certain chemicals. This leads to frustration, anger, depression and they gradually fall into the darkness of despair and become suicidal. This trend is quite high among young college and university students nowadays.

Suicide is probably one of the most disliked and unwelcome acts in the world. There is no more embarrassing and difficult context in society than suicide. But even after that the incident happened and it can be said that it happens all the time. Today's youth are the future of tomorrow and also leader. They want to achieve something they want by studying, they want to enlighten the world. Most of them get a good job after finishing their studies, the urge to do something for the family, many of them make their loved ones their life partner in the trap of a beautiful world and if any one of them gets interrupted, he is plunged into extreme despair.

Feeling they have 'run out of life' emotionally. There is no denying that unemployment has become a major issue during the COVID-19 period. Millions of young people are unable to find the desired employment, which is why frustration is gripping them. As a result, they are choosing the most disliked and the worst job in the world. We have to come out of this and for this we need to not only counsel the concerned but also the policy makers to come forward to resolve the problem.
Md Zillur Rahaman is a
Banker and Columnist





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