The erratic nature of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) forced the Bangladeshi government to shut down all the educational institutions since March 18, 2020. This prolonged closure not only detached the students from their study but also increased anxiety among them regarding their future academic as well as professional careers. The present study aimed to explore the perception and understanding of the students and teachers regarding the impact of COVID-19 on the academic life and career pursuit of university students in Bangladesh. With a semistructured interview schedule, data for this qualitative study were collected from 8 purposively selected participants, using telephone interviews, affiliated with a public university in Bangladesh. Students argued that the extended closure is responsible for the delayed graduation of the senior students, thereby, mounting mental stress and frustration among them. The informants unequivocally opposed the online education platform, as a solution for the ongoing gap, due to scarcity of the resources, and unequal accesses and opportunities for all. It has been suggested that the education gap can be reduced by shortening the term, curtailing the preparatory leave, and taking extra classes over the weekends when the universities reopen together with enforced collective health hygiene.

The aim of this study was to determine the risk factors associated with generalized anxiety, depression, and subjective sleep quality among university students during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Bangladesh. Data for this web-based cross-sectional study were collected from 1317 university students from 49 universities using a self-administered e-questionnaire in the last week of April 2020. Findings suggest that university students have been experiencing heightened generalized anxiety (51%), depression (45.9%), and poor subjective sleep quality (27.1%). Results also indicate that university students were severely frightened about COVID-19. The severity of fear and geographical locations were the key determinants in shaping the state of mind as well as subjective sleep quality of university students. It is, therefore, strongly recommended to initiate not only effective strategies to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 but also a strict monitoring mechanism to detect the presence of mental ailments among university students, and to offer necessary supports through family, community, and institutional agencies to curb psychological problems, especially during this unprecedented health emergency.

The unprecedented growth of educated workforce following the economic development and diversity in workplace has widened the career choices of young people in Bangladesh. However, it intensifies a dilemma among the job seekers about determining their career goals, because career goals are often influenced by certain socio-demographic and cultural aspects. Hence, this cross-sectional study was designed to investigate the career choices of university students in Bangladesh and to identify its determinants. Administering a self-administered questionnaire (SAQ), data were collected from 422 students at a public university using the multistage stratified sampling. Data were analyzed by bivariate (chi-square) and multivariate (exploratory factor analysis and binary logistic regression) analyses. Findings suggest that the career choices of students vary regarding their gender, religion, and academic track. For example, female (AOR: 0.281; 95% CI: 0.144 to 0.547) and Muslim (AOR: 3.648; 95% CI: 1.765 to 7.542) students preferred public jobs, whereas students of commerce (AOR: 0.344; 95% CI: 0.144 to 0.820) went for private ones. Among socioeconomic issues, only the father’s occupation had a substantial effect on career decisions (AOR: 0.347; 95% CI: 0.144 to 0.820). The career choice was also determined by the job prospects (AOR: 1.251; 95% CI: 1.161 to 1.347), preference of family (AOR: 1.238; 95% CI: 1.099 to 1.394), as well as job diversity (AOR: 0.879; 95% CI: 0.795 to 0.972). Based on the findings of this study, it is recommended that the government should address the trends and patterns of career choices of students through empirical research when formulating future educational and career-related policies in Bangladesh.

A significant body of multi-disciplinary research supports the proposition that women may experience empowerment from microfinance programs. This is based on the assumption that an increase in women’s financial contribution to the household helps to transform gender norms and relations which increases their decision-making power. However, the relationship between the strength and persistence of patriarchal gender norms within the household and women’s financial empowerment needs further exploration. This paper presents the findings of a mixed-method study comprising 331 surveys and 33 in-depth interviews with women receiving microfinance and their husbands in a southern sub-district of Bangladesh; it draws upon gender socialisation and gender performance theory to understand how patriarchal gender norms influence women’s financial empowerment in households receiving microfinance. Findings demonstrate that participation in microfinance programs has not shifted gender norms, nor financially empowered women. Women’s loans were largely controlled by men as prescribed by underlying, unchanged patriarchal gender norms. The inter-generational reproduction of patriarchal gender relations continued to reproduce a strict gendered division of labour that reinforced restrictions on women’s behaviour, mobility, and decision-making domains, and men’s dominance in household and economic decision-making.