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Published : 18 Jan 2025, 05:15 PM
A total of 310 students at the school, college, madrasah and university level have died by suicide in 2024, according to a study.
A study by the voluntary social organisation Aachol Foundation says that female students accounted for 61 percent of the deaths.
According to the level of education, the suicide rate was highest among secondary school students at 46.1 percent.
In 2023, 513 students died by suicide, while the number was 532 in 2022. In comparison, the data shows a drop in suicides last year.
Farzana Akhter Laboni, executive member of Aachol, presented the findings of the 2024 study at a virtual press conference on Saturday.
She said, “Our researchers believe that fewer reports on suicides were published in the media amid political unrest.”
Farzana said that 38.4 percent of the students who died by suicide were boys, while third gender and transgender students made up 0.3 percent.
The press conference said that most students who died by suicide last year were between the ages of 13 and 19, at 65.7 percent. Those between the ages of 20 and 25 accounted for 24 percent.
And 7.4 percent of the students who died by suicide were between 1 and 12 years old, while 2.9 percent were between 26 and 30 years old.
SUICIDES MORE COMMON AT SCHOOL LEVEL
In 2024, the highest suicide rate in Bangladesh was among school-going students at 49.4 percent, while college students accounted for 23.2 percent and university students 17.74 percent.
Madrasah students recorded a suicide rate of 6.8 percent. Among them, 47.6 percent were between 6 and 12 years old, 47.6 percent were between 13 and 19 years old, and 4.8 percent were between 20 and 25 years old.
And according to the level of education, 46.1 percent of student suicides were at the secondary level, 19.4 percent were at the higher secondary level, and 14.6 percent were at the undergraduate level.
In addition, 7.4 percent were at the primary level, 1.9 percent were at the postgraduate level, 0.6 percent were at the diploma level, and 0.6 percent were newly graduated and unemployed.
DHAKA LEADS IN SUICIDES
The Aachol Foundation said that last year, the highest number of student suicides was recorded in the Dhaka Division with 29 percent. It was 17.7 percent in Khulna, 15.8 percent in Chattogram, 10.7 percent in Rajshahi and Barishal, 7.7 percent in Rangpur, 5.5 percent in Mymensingh and 2.1 percent in Sylhet.
CAUSES OF SUICIDE
The social organisation said that in 2024, the highest number of students - 28.4 percent - committed suicide after suffering humiliation. Of these students, 56.5 percent were at the primary level, 39.1 percent at the secondary and college levels, and 15.3 percent at the higher education level.
Another 16.8 percent of students died by suicide due to issues with romantic relationships. Of them, 36.54 percent were at the secondary level, 38.46 percent at the college level, and 21.15 percent at the higher education level.
An additional 14.2 percent of students died by suicide due to academic pressure. Among them, 59.09 percent were at the school level, 29.54 percent were at the college level, and 9.09 percent were at the university level.
Finally, 5.5 percent of students died by suicide due to mental health issues.
The Aachol Foundation recommended a number of initiatives that could be taken to curb student suicides.
These include the appointment of volunteers at educational institutions to raise awareness of mental health and to identify classmates who are experiencing stress, depression, or anxiety and to send them to counselling for psychological issues, setting up discussion groups, conducting regular workshops and providing incentives to develop good habits, raising awareness among parents about mental health, introducing scholarships for low-income students to reduce stress, and the launching of a helpline that could provide emergency mental health service.
