#StudentMentalHealth

School-related anxiety among students has reached an “epidemic” scale in Northern Ireland, with absenteeism numbers and emotional distress rates sparking urgent calls for intervention and reform. Recent reporting from the BBC revealed that 85,000 children in Northern Ireland have missed more than a tenth of school days this academic year alone, with experts warning that emotionally-based school anxiety is “off the Richter scale” and significantly disrupting education systems (BBC News). As Thailand contends with its own mental health challenges among students—exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic—this global surge in school anxiety offers critical lessons local educators and policymakers must urgently consider.