Every year,around 2 lakh students sit for admission tests in Bangladesh and they go through tremendous mental pressure due to many factors like fear of failure, family pressure, academic pressure and so on. This admission chapter is a pivotal point for a student’s life.
As the students get better education with experienced faculty members free of cost to low cost, public university offers a golden opportunity for higher studies and also it brings some sort of social status. According to the research done by researcher Dr Jamal Uddin, professor of Statistics Department (SUST), around 74% admission aspirants suffer from mental health. Around 26% students suffer from mild to moderate depression and around 22% students severe depression. The research was done on 5000 admission candidates. Another study among 911 Bangladeshi students shows that students suffer from anxiety, depression and burnout.
There are several reasons behind this mental pressure on aspirants. Family pressure is one of the most common problems for students. Parents, peers and surroundings give extra force on existing academic torment. Social media is responsible for some extent of causing anxiety among the students, as the social media promotes showing off the only positive side. Peers and friends can also pressurize one and make one feel depressed after getting an unfortunate rejection from a university in a friend circle.
The academic pressure from coaching centers,classes, mock tests and the depression from long term preparation can cause extra toll on the students. Because of emotional burnout, they suffer from emotional weariness, cynicism and lower academic efficiency. The ancient entrance system is also another factor behind student’s depression. Now the “Cluster admission system” is invented to solve this problem but it is going to take more time to be fully implanted.
As the university seats are limited, students feel the fear of failure. In the 2022-23 session, Dhaka University had 2,98,429 applicants against 5965 seats, which is very insufficient. In 51 public universities, there are almost 51,152 seats. It is evident that many students will not get into public universities and that’s why pressure gets on their nerves.
There are numbers of students who commit suicide due to mental pressure or after getting rejected by their preferable institutions. Also there are cases of drug addiction, dropouts among ill stirred aspirants. Students suffering from several mental disorders can not go further and this admission phase can change a student’s life, it can make one’s life better or worse.
If a student can not get into any public universities, there are alternatives for higher education. 112 private universities provide higher studies in Bangladesh and some of them have better ranking than public universities. Besides, Govt Engineering college, colleges under Dhaka University and National University are well qualified options. Other than these, study abroad is also available not only for well off students, but also for middle class students as they offer scholarships.
Students can cope up with mental pressure through the help of family support, religion, meditation and quality time with himself. As there are many options other than public universities, a student should sit for the admission test with a clear and fresh mind without being afraid of failure. One responsible student is an asset of the country. That’s why they should keep it in mind, “Education is for life, not the other way around.”
To read more blogs like this, click here.
Writer,
Nusrat Jahan Sonia
Intern (10th Batch)
Content Writing Department
YSSE