Recent reports have uncovered that public universities lack adequate psychological support centres for students, despite a High Court order stipulating that they should issue policies against sexual harassment and provide facilities for mental support centres.
Reportedly, the rate of depression on campuses is increasing and at least 5% of students have been dropping out of higher educational institutions because of sexual and mental harassment.
In spite of the fact that every public university had accepted the High Court’s order, few concrete measures have been taken. Even the biggest public university in Bangladesh, Dhaka University, has no permanent post for a counsellor; former students in the psychology department allegedly run its student guidance and counselling centre. The situation is much worse in many other public universities around the country.
Prevalence of sexual harassment on campuses predominantly affects female students. This has grave implications for gender equity in Bangladesh where women are already underrepresented in tertiary education.
We have previously editorialised about the fact that public university students face many challenges to their education, including chronic session jams, strikes and other types of disruptions. Compared to many of these issues, putting in place anti-harassment policies and providing support services is a relatively easy problem to solve.
Public universities have a responsibility to ensure that they create a safe and welcoming environment for students. Putting in place anti-harassment policies and providing support facilities for victims of abuse is a crucial part of creating such an environment. They need to act on the High Court’s order without any further delay.