Students' mental health severely impacted
National University Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr ASM Amanullah announced on Thursday that the university will conduct mental health awareness workshops nationwide for students at affiliated colleges.
The announcement was made at a day-long seminar at Siddheswari Girls College in Dhaka.
Dr Amanullah said that students' mental health has been severely impacted by the political turmoil of the past seventeen years, including incidents of discrimination, disenfranchisement, murder, forced disappearance, and political unrest. He also cited the July Revolution, during which students were shot and killed, as a particularly traumatic event.
"Our students are tired and exhausted from witnessing state-sponsored terrorism," Dr Amanullah said. "That is why the National University administration has decided to conduct these workshops to promote mental health awareness among our students."
Siddiq Zobayer, Senior Secretary of the Secondary and Higher Education Division of the Ministry of Education, attended the workshop. He said modernising the country's education system would improve students' mental health and stressed the importance of creating an education system that prepares students for employment.
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Other distinguished guests at the workshop included National University Pro-Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Nurul Islam, Joint Secretary of the Secondary and Higher Education Division of the Ministry of Education Kazi Md Abdur Rahman, and Principal of Siddheswari Girls College Moshiul Hossain.
The workshop featured lectures on various aspects of mental health by faculty members from the University of Dhaka and the Bangladesh Home Economics College.
One hundred sixty students from four colleges participated in the workshop. They received training on a variety of topics related to mental health. At the end of the workshop, the Vice Chancellor of the National University and the Senior Secretary of the Secondary and Higher Education Division of the Ministry of Education presented the participants with certificates.
The workshop was conducted by Salma Parveen, Acting Director of the National University Teacher Training Department.
