Bangladesh’s Education Adviser Professor Dr. Chowdhury Rafiqul Abrar has called on the University Grants Commission (UGC) and universities to adopt comprehensive measures for students’ social and mental well-being. Speaking at a discussion on the ‘Social and Mental Health Protection’ project in Dhaka, he emphasized the need for sustainable programs to help students recover from the trauma of the July uprising.

The meeting, chaired by UGC Chairman Professor Dr. S.M.A. Faez, was attended by UNESCO’s Bangladesh representative Suzanne Wise, senior UGC members, and Education Ministry officials. Abrar noted that UNESCO’s initiative has already supported 10,000 students with mental health services and raised awareness among 20,000 more through social media. Wise highlighted that policy implementation, rather than formulation, remains the key challenge in Bangladesh.

The project, launched after the July movement, aims to strengthen mental health support across 22 universities. Participants agreed that continued collaboration among universities, UGC, and UNESCO is essential to ensure long-term psychological resilience among students.