Blaming Students, Protecting Institutions: Critical Discourse Analysis of Student Suicide in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is facing a crisis with many students dying by suicide each year, resulting in hundreds of young lives lost. This study investigates how schools and the media in Bangladesh discuss these tragedies and how their language often blames individuals while hiding deeper, structural problems. The research uses Critical Discourse Analysis and draws on concepts from Self-Determination Theory, Labeling Theory, and Foucault’s idea of disciplinary power. It examines statements from schools, media reports, and official documents about four well-known student suicide cases between 2020 and 2025. The findings reveal a consistent pattern, which the study names the “suicide script.” In this pattern, failure in school is viewed as a moral failing, mental health issues are overlooked, schools avoid responsibility, and cultural notions of honor and shame increase students’ risk. Even mental health programs, especially in elite schools, often function as tools that compel students to change themselves to fit harmful systems rather than challenge them. This research contributes to critical sociology of education, particularly within postcolonial South Asian contexts, by examining how institutional discourse frames student suicide. The findings also invite comparison with achievement-oriented educational systems elsewhere. It demonstrates that language seeming caring can be a subtle form of control used by institutions. The study urges careful reflection on how schools frame these issues, as their approach not only mirrors but also sustains harmful systems, particularly in countries like Bangladesh.