20 Students Died by Suicide After SSC and HSC Results, Says Aachol Foundation

Eleven students died by suicide after the publication of the 2026 SSC and equivalent examination results, and nine more after the publication of the HSC examination results — 20 students in total, according to figures that have come to light.

The Aachol Foundation reported the figures, based on information published and compiled from various news media.

In a press release, the Aachol Foundation said that in the space of just ten days after the 2026 HSC results were published, nine student suicides in different parts of the country had come to light.

According to preliminary news reports and information from family and local sources, factors behind these incidents included failing the examination, failing to achieve the expected result, family expectations, social pressure and result-centred despair.

The incidents have brought back into focus the excessive result-centred pressure in the country's education system, the lack of mental preparation to accept failure, and the limitations in protecting students' mental health, the release said.

Of the nine students who died by suicide after the HSC results, five were female and four were male. District-wise, a total of five incidents were found in the Satkhira, Magura, Jashore and Bagerhat districts of Khulna division.

In addition, one incident each was recorded in Lakshmipur of Chattogram division, Thakurgaon of Rangpur division, Gazipur of Dhaka division and Bogura of Rajshahi division.

Earlier, after the 2026 SSC and equivalent results were published, 11 student suicides in different parts of the country, in a context of result-related despair and mental pressure, had alarmingly come to light.

The Aachol Foundation believes students can go through a particular kind of mental pressure at the time examination results are published. Treating a result as the sole measure of success or failure in life can deepen students' mental crisis.

The foundation said that at this time, importance must not be given only to the publication of results and admission to the next stage of education; equal attention must be paid to students' mental state. In particular, sympathetic behaviour by family, teachers and classmates must be ensured towards those who have failed or have not achieved the expected result.

At the same time, if despair, social isolation, excessive guilt or behavioural changes are seen in students after results are published, these must not be neglected and necessary help must be arranged quickly. A safe environment for students to express their feelings must be created, and, where needed, the help of mental health professionals must be ensured, the foundation said.

To prevent student suicides and to deal with the post-result mental crisis, the Aachol Foundation made seven recommendations. They include ensuring mental health support and counselling services for students in educational institutions before and after results are published, and families behaving sympathetically towards students who have failed or not achieved the expected result — refraining from any insult, rebuke, comparison or excessive pressure.

The recommendations also say awareness must be created among students, parents and teachers that failing an examination should not be seen as a failure of life, and institution-based support programmes should be introduced to observe students' mental state after results are published.

The recommendations further call for expanding accessible, confidential and free mental health counselling and emergency help for students, running regular awareness programmes on emotional control, coping with despair, problem-solving and seeking help, and building coordinated initiatives among educational institutions, families, healthcare institutions and relevant government agencies, so that students at risk can get help quickly.