Despite a directive by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina four years ago, the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) has yet to appoint child psychologists in schools, according to the sources at the directorate, who added that the process has been in limbo for a while.
The directive had come in light of recent suicide cases among school students, especially high among young females, in the country.
Asked about this limbo, Sajal Kanti Mandal, director (school) of DSHE, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterdya that they were working on it, but the delay was due to shortage of resources.
“Schools have a shortage of teachers. We are trying to solve that first, then we will address the child psychologist issue,” he said.
During her previous term, the prime minister asked the ministries concerned on July 17, 2010 to appoint child psychologists in schools.
Following the directives, the Education Ministry decided that the decision would be implemented in phases and 317 government secondary schools would get child psychologists first.
A rise in the number of suicides among school-going children have been evident in recent times. This year, a female student of Cambrian School and College allegedly committed suicide at a hostel in the capital’s Badda area on August 15. On September 6, a Class IX student of East Point Education School and College in Khilgaon killed herself in face of continuous sexual harassment by a local stalker. In the most recent incident, a brother-and-sister duo were found hanging in their rooms on September 16 in what appeared to be a suicide pact.
According to a World Health Organisation report, about 28 people commit suicide every day in Bangladesh – mostly young females between 15 and 29 years. The number of incidents has grown over the past four years.
Dr Helaluddin, assistant professor of the National Institute of Mental and Research (NIMHR), told the Dhaka Tribune that suicide trends in Bangladesh were different from developed countries.
“In developed countries older people and males are more prone to committing suicide due to their loneliness,” he said. “But in Bangladesh, it is mostly young women who take their own lives.”
He said the lack of a proper relationship with family members was the prime cause of suicide.
In addition, domestic violence, stalking, sexual harassment, physical and sexual assault, demands for dowry, failures in examinations and romantic frustrations were major causes of suicide, he said.