A survey conducted by the UQAT General Student Association last fall shows that 64% of 725 respondents have felt severe psychological distress since the start of the pandemic.
The 19 to 25 year olds are the most affected with 78% of respondents.
The risk of dropping out of studies is also very present, according to the survey.
36% of respondents say they intended to drop out of college, 41% of which were full-time students.
The vice-president of the association Céline Groulx says that the situation is more complicated for students who must spend between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. of screen time.
It’s worrying, they are our future professionals, we must also survive in our studies this new way of doing things, she says. Studying in front of a screen is far from educational, it can cause a lot of stress. The face-to-face in the classroom gives us access to a society, we are more isolated from these associations.
The survey of the General Student Association shows that 64% of 725 respondents feel a strong psychological distress.
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She mentions in passing that the management of UQAT and the teachers are trying to help, in particular by allowing students to take fewer courses per session, the delivery of books from the library to their homes or financial assistance to cover certain expenses.
However, Céline Groulx specifies that the pandemic has accentuated the precariousness among students who do not have access to the jobs they are used to holding.
We know very well that before the pandemic, the financial precariousness of students was terrible. We know we can’t study full time
, explains the manager.
My winter session I have 6 classes, so it’s difficult to go and work outside of course and especially since the pandemic meant that the first jobs that were closed were for students, then the money doesn’t come in anymore,
she says.
On his Facebook page, Prime Minister Fraçois Legault says he is worried about the mental health problems caused by the pandemic among students.
It does not rule out the possibility of allowing more presence on CEGEP and university campuses in a safe manner.
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