A father who recently lost a child is supporting a campaign for better university student support, and it will be discussed in parliament later.
Rory Shanahan, the son of Mark Shanahan, an Oxfordshire lecturer, committed suicide in 2018 while attending the University of Sheffield. Rory was from Abingdon.
He is just one of many advocating for universities to have a responsibility to protect their students under the law.
100,000 signatures have been collected for the ForThe100 campaign, starting the discussion.
The petition demanded that the government make student mental health, safety, and wellbeing a "priority.".
Mr. Shanahan described the absence of a legal duty of care as an "anomaly".
He declared: "It exists in the workplace and in higher education, but students are not given this support, and we have seen at the very sharp end where it fails.
"Having a legal foundation establishes a stake in the ground with the law and indicates that the culture guiding university support is governed by that law. ".
There is undoubtedly a need to define the priorities when it comes to holding universities accountable so that students and their families feel safe, according to Dominic Smithies, influence and advocacy lead at mental health charity Student Minds. ".
In a survey conducted by the group in February, one in three students said they had poor mental wellbeing, and a quarter said they were currently dealing with a mental health issue that had been diagnosed.
A legal duty of care, according to Steve West, president of Universities UK, the organization that represents universities nationwide, said that while he welcomed the discussion, it was not the best course of action.
According to a statement from the Department for Education, funding crucial services like the free Student Space website and urging the sector to fully implement evidence-based practice are the best ways to protect students. ".
The department added that additional plans should be explained by the minister later and that it will work with bereaved parents to identify areas for improvement.
