Within the span of a single week, two university students attempted to take their own lives-an alarming and deeply troubling development that demands serious reflection. While such tragedies are often the result of multiple, interrelated factors, they point to systemic shortcomings that extend beyond individual circumstances.
Public discourse has highlighted a range of possible underlying pressures, including escalating tuition fees, financial strain on families, intense academic stress, strained teacher-student relationships, poor academic performance, and rigid attendance policies. Each of these factors can place an immense psychological burden on young people, particularly in highly competitive and unforgiving academic environments. However, beyond these commonly cited causes lies a more fundamental and often overlooked issue: the systematic exclusion of youth from educational planning and academic decision-making processes. When students are treated merely as recipients of education rather than active stakeholders, their voices, concerns, and lived realities remain unheard. This disconnect can foster feelings of alienation, powerlessness, and disengagement-conditions that significantly heighten emotional vulnerability.
Education systems that prioritise compliance over consultation risk overlooking the emotional and psychological needs of learners. Young people need spaces where they are listened to, respected, and meaningfully involved in shaping their academic experiences. Inclusion in curriculum design, assessment practices, institutional policies, and support mechanisms not only enhances relevance and motivation but also affirms students’ sense of belonging and self-worth.
These recent incidents should compel universities, regulators, and policymakers to look beyond surface-level explanations and address deeper structural gaps within higher education. Safeguarding student well-being requires more than reactive measures; it demands a proactive shift toward student-centred, participatory, and empathetic educational models. Only by recognising youth as partners in education-rather than passive subjects-can institutions begin to create environments that support both academic success and mental well-being.
For Pakistan, where more than 64% of the population is under the age of 30, youth engagement in education reform is not optional-it is essential. If young people are to be genuine co-creators of education, their voices must be systematically and meaningfully embedded in the design of curricula, assessment systems, courses, and co-curricular activities. Education cannot remain a one-way transmission of content decided solely by policymakers and academics, detached from the lived realities of learners. When students are engaged in shaping what they learn, how they learn, and how their learning is assessed, education becomes more relevant, motivating, and transformative. Learning should be experienced not merely as preparation for examinations or employment, but as an enriching journey of personal growth, identity formation, and the development of a positive, resilient mindset. Research consistently shows that student engagement, well-being, and learning outcomes improve when learners feel heard, respected, and valued within an educational environment.
In a world facing rising polarisation and extremism, nurturing youth leadership grounded in empathy, ethics, and critical thinking is vital.
The consequences of excluding youth from the learning process can be severe. When education systems prioritise grades over growth, competition over compassion, and compliance over creativity, they risk alienating learners. Tragically, Pakistan has witnessed instances where overwhelming academic pressure, lack of emotional support, and fear of failure have led to devastating outcomes-such as the widely reported suicide of a University of Lahore student, which sparked national debate on student mental health, assessment pressures, and institutional accountability.
Such incidents underscore a painful truth: when young people feel invisible, unheard, or reduced to numbers, the cost can be irreparable. Education systems must therefore be evaluated not only on academic performance, but also on how well they safeguard dignity, mental well-being, and hope.
In this context, integrating mindfulness, social-emotional learning, and mental health literacy into education is no longer optional-it is essential. UNESCO and WHO both emphasise that schools and universities must play a proactive role in promoting psychological well-being, stress management, and emotional regulation.
Mindfulness-based practices help students develop self-awareness, empathy, patience, and emotional balance-skills that are critical in an increasingly fast-paced, uncertain, and digitally saturated world. Teacher training programs must also equip educators to recognise early signs of distress and create safe, supportive learning environments where seeking help is normalised rather than stigmatised.
Schools and universities must reclaim their role in character education, helping young people distinguish right from wrong, develop moral courage, and practice empathy. Ethics education should not be limited to textbooks; it must be lived through daily interactions, institutional culture, and leadership practices.
Teachers are central to this process. Beyond delivering content, they are role models whose attitudes, behaviours, and values leave lasting impressions. A teacher who models fairness, patience, respect for diversity, and integrity teaches far more than any syllabus can. Continuous professional development must therefore emphasise teachers’ roles as mentors, guides, and character builders-not merely instructors.
Pakistani culture, at its best, promotes acceptance, respect for elders, hospitality, and the dignity of the individual. Education systems should consciously draw upon these cultural strengths to foster inclusion and social cohesion, particularly for marginalised groups such as persons with disabilities, ethnic minorities, and those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
At the same time, young people today are navigating an information landscape dominated by social media, where misinformation, rumours, and unrealistic role models spread rapidly. Algorithms often amplify sensationalism over substance, making it increasingly difficult for youth to distinguish truth from falsehood, knowledge from noise.
Without critical media literacy, social media can fuel anxiety, comparison, polarisation, and even radicalisation. Education must therefore equip learners with critical thinking skills, ethical digital citizenship, and the ability to question, verify, and reflect before accepting or sharing information. In a world facing rising polarisation and extremism, nurturing youth leadership grounded in empathy, ethics, and critical thinking is vital. Leadership education must promote dialogue over division, service over self-interest, and peace over violence. Young people need opportunities to practice leadership in safe, inclusive spaces-through student councils, community projects, and civic engagement-guided by positive role models.
To achieve these goals, a multi-pronged approach is required:
Institutionalise youth participation in curriculum design, assessment reform, and education governance.
Embed mental health, mindfulness, and ethics education across all levels of learning.
Strengthen teacher preparation to emphasise mentorship, well-being, and character building.
Promote media and digital literacy to counter misinformation and unhealthy online influences.
Develop youth leadership programs that foster inclusion, peace, and social responsibility.
As the International Day of Education 2026 calls upon us to recognise the power of youth in co-creating education, the message is clear: education must be human-centred, values-driven, and youth-informed. Only then can it nurture not just skilled professionals, but thoughtful, resilient, and ethical citizens capable of shaping a more just and peaceful future.
The writer is a freelance columnist