Reduction in on-campus mental health funding affecting drop-out rates, says academic
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A dramatic reduction in funding supports for on-campus healthcare may be impacting numbers dropping out of college, a leading academic has said.
Concerns have also been raised about the recruitment of on-campus counsellors amid a surge in demand for services on college campuses across the country.
On foot of recent statistics that indicate one in three students have seriously considered dropping out, acting deputy president of University College Dublin (UCD) Dr Barbara Dooley suggested Government funding shortfalls may have affected these figures.
While the Government stepped in and provided unprecedented levels of financial support during the pandemic for mental health services, a subsequent “dramatic reduction” has impacted services, sparking student welfare concerns.
Speaking at the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Higher Education on Tuesday, Ms Dooley stressed that although the Irish University Association or UCD have not specifically measured the correlation between accommodation and mental health issues, it was clear that social development and mental health is impacted by long commutes which have increased for students struggling to find accommodation and afford rents in urban areas.
Sinn Féin higher education spokesperson Rose Conway-Walsh also expressed concern to the committee about students who contacted her looking to defer due to accommodation issues, but institutions were blocking the processes.
Treasa Fox, who spoke for the Technological Higher Education Association, said the pandemic “cast a spotlight on the inequities within the educational system”.
She said there has been a “dramatic increase in demand for student counselling services in recent years and also a consistent rise in self-reported self-harm and suicidal ideation among the student population”.
Figures show counselling appointments on the rise, with 12,852 students using services across 65,000 appointments in the 2019/2020 academic year; and 14,386 attending some 69,000 appointments the following year.
Difficulties in recruiting counsellors at universities due to short-term funding allocations during the pandemic has affected healthcare on campuses, Ms Fox said. She added the “once-off nature” of recent funding allocations has provided difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff.
Ms Fox, alongside others speaking at the committee, stressed the need for multi-annual core funding, ring-fenced for student counselling services to ensure continuity of improved services. She said Ireland must meet international standards of one counsellor per 1,000 students, which Ireland is yet to reach.
Meanwhile, the committee also discussed the piloting of counselling services in primary schools across the country.
Professor Paul Downes of Dublin City University’s Educational Disadvantage Centre said it was “psychologically nonsensical” and a “glaring gap” to run a €5m pilot programme in primary schools but not secondary schools.
He said in the long-term there should be dedicated counsellors in every school in Ireland and the cost of this would be “relatively modest” compared to the benefits for children across the country.