£50m to help students as we expose toll on mental health
THOUSANDS of students battling to cope with the pandemic will be given an extra £50million in vital financial support, ministers will announce today.
The aid comes as the Daily Express Fair Deal for Students crusade lays bare Covid’s worrying mental toll on the nation’s higher education population.
Experts have warned some students have been driven to the brink of suicide as they struggle with living expenses, accommodation and online learning.
Universities will distribute the funds to hard-hit students to help pay for alternative accommodation and access teaching, as well as supporting those who have lost jobs.
Universities minister Michelle Donelan said: “This continues to be an incredibly difficult and challenging time for our students.
“I am hugely grateful to all the university staff working hard to prioritise their health, wellbeing and learning during this pandemic.
“This additional support will provide real, tangible help for those students struggling financially as a result.”
Diagnosis
The £50million is in addition to £20million help announced in December. It follows warnings that students are among the adults most seriously affected by the pandemic.
Their mental health was deteriorating before the pandemic but charity bosses fear the disruption to learning caused by the virus will worsen the issue.
Second-year graphic design student Dan Robinson, 23, described feeling “exhausted and drained” from online classes and a lack of social interaction.
Dan, from Kingston University, said: “I went from having probably a breakdown every month or so [before the pandemic] to having weekly stress breakdown.
“I’m like, ‘How am I going to keep up with this? How am I going to keep the level of professionalism that’s expected while also working from my bedroom?’.”
Alistair Jarvis, of Universities UK, said: “While the additional funding is welcome, the Government must acknowledge that hardship is one of many increasingly difficult issues facing students, universities and staff at this time.
“As the serious mental health impact of the pandemic continues to be felt, universities need further funding to alleviate the substantial increases in demand that university wellbeing and support services are
experiencing.” A record number of university-age students killed themselves in 2019 and the number with mental illnesses who dropped out of courses has reached an all-time high.
Some 182 full-time students in England and Wales aged 18 and above committed suicide in 2019 – an increase of 88 per cent in six years, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures said.
The figures cover all adult students,
the majority believed to be attending university. But some may have been enrolled at further education colleges, on apprenticeship courses or other institutions.
It is feared the extra strain on the students of 2020 could lead to a rise in suicides when figures are released later this year.
Sara Khan of the National Union of Students (NUS) said: “We know that expressing hopelessness about the future, displaying overwhelming emotional distress and withdrawal from social connections, are warning signs that a student may be at risk for suicide.
“We also know that the best way to prevent suicide is through early detection, diagnosis and treatment.
“Students deserve better than this. We call on the Government to immediately increase the funding of NHS mental health services and the funding of mental health charities working with BAME, disabled and LGBT people.”
An NUS survey found more than half the UK’s students said their mental health had deteriorated or was affected negatively by Covid-19.
Even before the pandemic, however, a record number with mental health conditions dropped out of university, according to figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
In the 2017/18 more than 3,000 with mental health issues quit their course, compared with 1,455 just four years earlier.
It is believed that figure will skyrocket for this academic year as students battle with the transition to online learning caused by the pandemic.
Catherine Seymour, of the Mental Health Foundation, said: “Our research suggests that students are among the groups of adults who have been most seriously affected by the pandemic.
“For instance, students seem to be coping less well with the stress of the pandemic. They are also more worried about the future for people their age, compared with UK adults generally.” She added: “A big part of what students need is financial and physical security. They need to know they’re not going to run out of food or money for heating or get evicted from where they’re living. “These things make a huge difference to people’s mental health. “Students should also be able to get professional support for their mental health if they need it.”
‘Displaying emotional distress and withdrawal from social connections are warning signs that a student may be a risk for suicide’