Closed higher education institutions and vocational schools threaten to leave young people with permanent mental health problems, the Dutch Psychiatric Association told Trouw. “These educational institutions should also open as soon as possible,” said the association’s president, Elnathan Prinsen. The call is supported by the higher education unions, the universities of the Netherlands and the LSVb student union.
“Confinement is intended to prevent disease, but it is confinement that makes people sick,” Prinsen said. Child and youth psychiatrists are busier than ever, and students more frequently report mental health issues such as stress, loneliness, anxiety, and depression. “Serious problems that can lead to a mental disorder,” Prinsen said. Mental disorders make it difficult to function in everyday life.
“We know from studies that three-quarters of mental disorders develop before the age of 21. The average age at which a disorder of this type begins is around 18, 19 years, which is exactly the age of students from vocational education secondary, university, and university “.
Adults generally managed to mentally recover from the first confinement, but this was not the case for young adults, Prinsen told the newspaper. “After the first shutdown, they reported 1.5 times more mental complaints than before,” Prinsen said. “If you then go into the next lockdown with more problems, they will pile up.”
Prinsen believes that it is time for the government to consider the long-term effects of its measures against the coronavirus. “Education is a fundamental right. But our education has been in crisis for two years due to the closures. “
Student unions and educational institutions also sent a letter to the Outbreak Management Team, calling for higher education and secondary vocational education to reopen as soon as possible, ANP reports.
“This is of great importance for the quality of education and the well-being of students,” according to student unions, the Association of Universities of Applied Sciences, the National Youth Council and the Universities of the Netherlands. “The daily contact between students and teachers is of great importance for the quality of education and the well-being of students.”
