School students accounted for a little over half of student suicides recorded in the first eight months of 2026, exceeding the shares among university, college and madrasa students, according to data from the Aachol Foundation.
At least 224 student deaths by suicide were reported this year, including 117 school students, 50 university students, 47 college students and 10 madrasa students. Of the 224 deaths, 132 were female and 92 male.
The figures are based on media reports and do not represent an official national suicide mortality count.
At an event titled, “From Silence to Action: Changing the Narrative on Suicide Among Youth”, organised by Aachol Foundation and the Human Rights Development Centre (HRDC) at Dhaka Reporters Unity, ahead of World Suicide Prevention Day, mental health professionals and advocates urged stronger prevention services and reform of the law criminalising attempted suicide.
State Minister for Health and Family Welfare MA Muhit said stigma remained a major barrier, as families often concealed adolescent suicide deaths for fear of judgement. He proposed a campaign carrying the message “It’s good to talk”, stressing that open communication could help prevent isolation and distress.
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Photo: Tamanna Yesmin Maria
“The government wants to work with professionals and social organisations to link grassroots mental health services with tertiary centres,” he said.
He added that technology, including tele-counselling, could expand access to support. Muhit acknowledged that criminalising suicide created stigma.
In his keynote, Dr Sayedul Islam Sayed, lead psychiatrist at Aachol, said Bangladesh lacked a reliable national suicide surveillance system. Aachol’s monitoring recorded 403 student suicides in 2025, including 190 school students (47.4%). The figure was 532 in 2022, 513 in 2023, and 310 in 2024.
He cited depression, family problems, cyberbullying, academic pressure, financial stress, loneliness, gender-based violence, and stigma as contributing factors.
He also suggested university prevention cells, teacher training to identify at-risk students and life-skills education covering resilience, digital wellbeing and help-seeking.
WHO mental health officer Hasina Momotaz said WHO and the government had trained 40 master trainers, who later trained 488 schoolteachers and reached around 20,000 students. Services were being piloted in 10 districts through 19 mental health centres, while a 2026-2030 action plan was being drafted with WHO support.
Dr Saifun Nahar, director of the National Institute of Mental Health, said suicide could be linked to several mental health conditions and urged people to listen to those in distress.
Prof Kamal Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury of Dhaka University’s Clinical Psychology Department said Section 309 of the Penal Code is a major barrier to suicide prevention. Barrister Naufat Zamir, founder of Insight for Change Foundation, also called for reform, saying criminalisation was a colonial-era legacy that impeded support for survivors.
Writer Gawhar Nayeem Wara urged government-led programmes for students and parents after SSC and HSC results.
HRDC CEO Mahbul Haque said survivors of torture, violence, and detention often suffered long-term trauma. HRDC Director Jianur Kabir announced plans for 500 community-level prevention programmes nationwide.
Ashraful Anwar Rosen of DIGNITY warned that survivors of state torture and rights violations could develop PTSD, increasing suicide risk.
Aachol Foundation President Mohammad Tansen said the campaign aimed to break the silence around depression and suicide and move from awareness to action.
