At least 5 per cent of students have been dropping out every year from educational institutions across the country due to sexual and mental harassment, said clinical psychiatrists, Dhaka Tribune reported.

According to their information, suicidal tendencies have also been increasing amongst the students due to the lack of psychological support centres.

Shahin Islam, professor of the psychology department of Dhaka University, said, a few years ago, around 20 students used to come to them for counselling every month. However, until recently at least 70 students have been coming.

In 2009, the High Court ordered every educational institution to establish an anti-harassment policy, and mentioned that a psychological help centre be incorporated in the policy.

However, no institution has followed the order yet.

Student Guidance and Counselling Centre of Dhaka University said former students of psychology department work there as advisors, because the university has no permanent post for a counsellor.

Mohammad Sadekul Islam, information officer of Rajshahi University, said the university had a post for counsellor, but was dissolved in 1973.

In 1980, a new post titled ‘student advisor’ was created. However, the advisor does not deal with student’s psychological health such as counselling to get rid of anxiety, trauma or depression.

The advisor only deals with political issues, he added.

Few months earlier, Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid told parliament that every public university has accepted the High Court order, and that the institutions had already issued a policy against sexual harassment where they included the facilities of a mental support centre.

However, a female lecturer of Jahangirnagar University, seeking anonymity said though the High Court ordered them to establish an anti-sexual harassment policy, no one has taken a steps to do so.

She added that, “If anyone gets harassed, nobody listens to them. But if an institution has a counsellor, then victims can go and seek advice from them.”

The Dhaka Tribune also found that there are no posts for a counsellor or advisor in Rajshahi, Jahangirnagar, Chittagong, and Khulna Universities.

Like all public and private universities across the country, prominent schools of Dhaka also have no posts for counsellors, while the institutions that do have posts for counsellors have been empty for a very long time.

Dr AK Azad Chowdhury, chairman of the University Grant Commission, said they sent strong instructions to all universities to implement the High Court order.

He also mentioned that a proper monitoring is needed to implement the order.