Photo: UGC

DHAKA, Oct 29, 2025 (BSS) - Member and Chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC) of Bangladesh Prof Dr. Mohammad Anwar Hossain today said effective initiatives are being taken to expand the scope of social and mental health services for university students.

He made these remarks today while speaking as the chief guest at a three-day workshop titled 'Social Emotional Learning Training Material and Manual Review' held to assess the social and emotional needs of university students.
The UGC and UNESCO are jointly organizing this three-day workshop at the Commission's auditorium.

The UGC is currently implementing a project titled 'Social and Mental Health Protection' with support from UNESCO. Social and mental health protection services are currently being provided to 10,000 students from 22 public and private universities. Subsequently, the service will be extended to 1 million (10 lakh) students across the country under an institutional framework.

The event was presided over by Jesmin Parvin, Director (Current Charge) of the UGC's International Collaboration Division, with Professor Dr. Mohammad Ayub Islam, Member of the Commission, as Special Guest.

Professor Anwar Hossain referred to recent “untoward incidents" involving students from Daffodil University and City University, stating that lessons need to be learned from such situations. He also called on teachers and parents to play a strong role in instilling moral values in students.

Professor Ayub Islam stated that the workshop will help identify and verify activities and supportive elements for social and mental health protection, both online and offline, for university students, teachers, researchers, and mental health service providers.

The workshop is being attended by Pro-VC of IUBAT Professor Dr. Mohammad Mahamudur Rahman, UNESCO representative Raju Das, and student advisors, counselors, mental health specialists, students, and UGC officials from 22 universities.
A special module is being prepared for the mental health protection of public and private university students under the Social and Mental Health Protection project.

The module was developed by a team led by Associate Professor Syed Tanvir Rahman of the Psychology Department at Dhaka University, and included Assistant Professor Md. Rafiuzzaman of the Humanities Department at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), along with four psychologists from BRAC IED and BRAC University.

Mental health protection services to university students are scheduled to commence from November this year.