JnU counseling centre in crisis
Md Abdur Rakib, JnU :
It is not secret that being a University student in Bangladesh can be stressful. The pressure many University students often face while trying to balance their course work with rest of their responsibilities can feel overwhelming .Students have to pass through many hazardous issues including accomodation, malnutrition and relationship crisis.
The Jagannath University (JnU) has already implemented counseling centre to assist students combat their mental health issues, but lack of adequate staffing and also lack of gender and racial diversity among counseling staff, exacerbate a trouble disrupted students routine.The counselling centre, situated on the ground floor of Rafiq Bhaban, commenced its operations on January 3, 2022, with the mission to address suicide tendencies, depression, and exam-related stress among students, operating from 9am to 3pm on all working days.
Though the Department of Psychology oversees the centre’s operations, with postgraduate students serving as counsellors as part of their fieldwork, many students reflect discomfort with the effective performance of the counselling center.
Saptami Karmakar, a student of the 2023-2024 academic year in the Department of Sociology, complained, “I was called after about two to three months.Those who provide counseling are not experts and they are mainly students of the Psychology department.They try to understand the problem, but the advice they give is often very general.”
A student, who asked not to be named, expressed his/her anger, saying, “We go for counseling, but when we go to the center, we find no one there, and those who are there are busy. As soon as we talk about the problem, they tell us that time is up.Instead of feeling lighter, we have to come back heavier.”
Those concerned say that service activities are being hampered due to limited manpower and lack of professional counselors. ?Reshma Rahman, office assistant at the university’s counseling center, also admitted the weakness of the service.
She said, “Counseling is often delayed due to manpower shortage. Those in charge have classes and exams, which complicates providing services. The pressure on students has also increased. We try to provide as much help as possible, but it is not enough.”
??Meanwhile, Professor Dr. Farzana Ahmed, convener of the university counseling center, said, “Like other universities, we do not have permanent posts in our counseling center. It is necessary to appoint two people professionally here. There is no one currently appointed in the counseling center. Those who are interns cannot be forced to sit there. They also have classes and midterms. There is no specific post allocated by the UGC for the counseling center in the university. Still, we are trying our best.”
In this regard , Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr. Md. Rezaul Karim said, “two teachers in each department are in charge of counseling and students of the psychology department are working in the medical center. Its activities will be further improved soon as needed.”