Student suicides rise along with debt burdens

By Simon Baker. The number of students taking their own lives rose by 50 per cent in four years, figures have shown. The statistics, released via a Freedom of Information request made by Ed Pinkney, the founder of Mental Wealth UK, a student mental health charity, was made public through the Office for National Statistics website last week. According to the data, between 2007 and 2011 the number of suicides by male students in full-time higher education rose by 36 per cent, from 57 to 78. The number of female student suicides per year almost doubled over that time period, from 18 to 34.
According to Mr Pinkney, the figures come in the light of growing pressures on students caused by rising costs and gloomy job prospects. Just this week, an example was highlighted in the media of Toby Thorn, who took his life after dropping out of Anglia Ruskin University and struggling with debts of £8,000. Read more...