How educational centralisation eroding students’ health

Bangladesh’s development story is often told through growth, mobility and opportunity. But beneath that narrative lies a structural imbalance that continues to shape-and strain-the lives of its young people: an overwhelming dependence on Dhaka.

From education to employment, the capital has become the unavoidable destination for millions. This concentration has turned higher education into a high-pressure migration cycle, where students leave their homes not only to study, but to survive in an intensely competitive urban ecosystem.

The journey begins almost immediately after Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) results are published. For hundreds of thousands of students across rural and semi-urban Bangladesh, success is no longer measured by results alone but by access-specifically, access to Dhaka.

Before they even step into a university classroom, many students are drawn into the country’s booming coaching economy. Admission test preparation has become a multi-million taka industry, heavily concentrated in the capital. As a result, a vast number of students relocate to Dhaka simply to attend coaching centres, hoping to secure a place in top public universities.

Dhaka remains home to leading institutions such as the University of Dhaka and Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, while a significant share of private universities are also concentrated within the metropolitan area, according to higher education data.

The outcome is a system where academic ambition is increasingly tied to geographic displacement.
For many students, arriving in Dhaka does not mean entering an environment of comfort or opportunity. Instead, it introduces them to a daily struggle for space, affordability and stability.

With university hall seats limited and private accommodation often expensive, students are forced into overcrowded messes, shared flats, and sub-let rooms. Living conditions are frequently cramped, unstable and financially draining.

Alongside academic pressure, students must navigate household responsibilities, financial constraints and intense competition. The transition from family life to independent urban survival leaves little room for balance.

It is within this environment that a quieter crisis is unfolding-one that is often overlooked in discussions about education policy: the deterioration of student health.

Under pressure to keep up with rigorous study schedules, many students compromise on basic well-being. Skipping meals, relying on inexpensive street food, consuming low-nutrition mess meals and depending heavily on caffeine have become routine survival strategies.

Over time, this lifestyle begins to take a measurable toll. Medical professionals report rising cases among young students of gastrointestinal disorders, gastric ulcers, vitamin deficiencies, insomnia, anxiety, depression and stress-related metabolic complications.

What begins as irregular eating habits or fatigue often develops into chronic health conditions by the time students progress through university life.

Even after completing their studies, many graduates remain tied to Dhaka. The capital continues to dominate Bangladesh’s job market, particularly in corporate sectors and civil service preparation hubs concentrated in areas such as Farmgate and Nilkhet.

This prolonged stay extends the pressure years beyond education itself, embedding young people deeper into a cycle of competition, stress and urban dependency.

Experts and observers argue that the current model places disproportionate pressure on Dhaka while weakening regional capacity across the country.

The solution, they suggest, lies in decentralisation. Strengthening academic standards in regional public universities, expanding fully equipped private campuses outside the capital, and distributing coaching and job-preparation centres to divisional cities could ease the burden.

Equally important is the need to diversify employment hubs beyond Dhaka, ensuring that opportunity is not geographically restricted.

Until such structural reforms are implemented, the pattern is likely to continue: students leaving home for Dhaka, living under pressure, and paying a hidden cost that extends beyond education.

In a country striving for development, the question remains whether academic success should continue to come at the expense of student health-and whether the nation can afford the cost of its own centralisation.