Chief Medical Officer of Peradeniya University Health Center Chandima Herath says that 140 female students have come to the Peradeniya University Health Center for psychological counseling since last August until now, and 10% of them were hospitalized and treated.
The doctor said that some of the students had become extremely depressed and had even tried to endanger their lives.
The doctor also said that the administration has taken steps to expand psychological counseling services after four university students tried to commit suicide in the last eight months.
The doctor said that there are many issues that cause a student’s mental condition to break down in the society, and if the child who is in a continuous state of stress does not get proper guidance, he or she may fall victim to depression and even lose his life.
She noted that the shortage of doctors has become a serious problem in the provision of services at the University Health Center and that there are now only three doctors in the approved staff of five doctors.
Dr. Herath said that the priority of any university is education, and the importance of the health sector has been highlighted to some extent in a situation like Covid, and she emphasized that with the incidents of student suicides being reported, special attention has been paid to psychological counseling.
