70,000 die in last 6 years

Syed Shemul Parvez :
Suicide incidents are increasing daily across the country every day.
Recently Bangladesh has turned into a suicide prone country. The incidence of suicide and the number of suicides seems to be higher every year than in the past.
Sources said suicide rate is high among the university and school students. According to several studies, at least 70 thousand people have committed suicide in the last 6 years.
The annual statistics of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) shows that 10 thousand 749 people committed suicide in 2016, 10 thousand 256 people in 2017, 11 thousand people in 2018, more than 10 thousand people in 2019, 14 thousand 436 people in 2020 and 11 thousand people in 2021.

Suicides are taking a heavy toll on the families of talented students who come to universities with dreams of achieving higher education every year.
In the last 3 years, 364 students have committed suicide at different public and private universities, including Dhaka University. Suicide rate is also high among the teenagers who are mainly school going students.

According to experts, university students take self-destructive decisions mainly due to relationship tension, family conflicts, academic pressure, financial hardship, depression, emotional instability and above all depression.

Many also committed suicide due to humiliation, sharing offensive pictures on Facebook, being humiliated by teachers, failing in exams, not being able to buy a mobile phone or motorcycle.
Experts believe, if people can identify and treat their mental problems, mental depression and mental diseases quickly, it will be an important remedy or way to prevent suicide. In order to reduce the incidence of suicide, the policymakers must first come forward.
They said that we have not yet achieved the concept of sound health that consists of physical, mental, social and spiritual aspects. While we are active on working with other diseases forgetting depression and mental issues. And as a result, we have not been able to research and prevent suicide.
In this context, Dr. Farzana Rahman, Associate professor of criminology department of Dhaka University, told The New Nation that the suicide trend among students has increased since the time of Corona pandemic. For lack of research activities on why suicide occurs and remedies; we can’t be aware. The causes of suicide among students are said to be a ‘psychopathology problem’. The brain is related to the mental state of the human being. Disappointment and depression are on the rise among the younger generation.
We only deal with physical problems. We do not take resort to mental health specialists for minor mental problems or even major mental problems. Since we are not aware of mental health, this mental problem remains rooted in the mind for a long time. Which we cannot share with anyone and which cannot be solved professionally. If we do not recognize or treat them, then at some point these mental problems become the cause of suicide, Dr. Farzana added.
According to the survey of social and voluntary organization Anchal Foundation, a total of 532 students committed suicide in 2022. Among them, the university had 84 students. The picture of suicides in previous years is more alarming. 101 university students chose to commit suicide in 2021. 79 people in 2020.
Besides, 17 students committed suicide in 2019, 11 in 2018 and 19 in 2017. In total, 311 students of the university have committed suicide in the last 6 years.
As the suicide rate among gifted students is on the rise, experts have urged to find a solution now. They said that it is important to create job opportunities and provide job security for the students of higher education institutions according to their qualifications. Addressing growing inequality as well as raising social awareness is needed.
Anchal Foundation also said, the students who committed suicide in 2022 were almost teenagers. The number of girls is more among them.