Student suicides a cause for concern

The Karnataka second PUC results announced on Saturday did not bring much cheer to the student community with only 62% student clearing the exam. But what came as a bigger shock was the report that four of the youngsters who appeared for the exam had killed themselves probably because the results did not measure up to their expectations or those of their parents.

Student suicides are not something to be brushed under the carpet; according to crime records, there was a student suicide every 42 minutes in India in 2020 which means as many as 34 students killed themselves each day. And when young people who have all their lives stretching before them, decide to end it so abruptly, there is obviously something terribly wrong with our priorities and the manner in which we as a society are moving forward.

Are exam results a serious enough reason for students to take their lives leaving their dear ones in shock and horror? It’s a rat race out there no doubt with the cut-off marks for medical and engineering courses climbing with each passing year and most parents not even willing to consider a course in the arts as an option.

Gone are the days when parents would ask their kids what they wanted to be in life; career choices are sternly marked out by the time kids are in their ninth standard and the tuitions and grooming for competitive exams soon start in right earnest. Forced career options without allowing kids the freedom to decide for themselves what they want to do, could be one powerful reason why many prefer death to the shame of being battered for poor marks.

Are schools doing enough to take the stress off these students and assure them that life does not end with a failure in an exam and there are option and options, many much more attractive which they can always pursue if the marks are not good enough? These are young and turbulent minds and their decisions could go awfully wrong if not counselled and advised properly at the right time. Not all may be lucky or brilliant enough to secure a professional course seat or a sarkari naukri, a hard fact most parents are not willing to reconcile with.

Stress, depression and anxiety have to be tackled with the right approach and only understanding parents and teachers can help out their wards by being kind enough to them and not forcing them over the precipice. Every student is unique in his or her abilities and shortcomings too and gauging them correctly and guiding them during those stormy teenage years to choose a suitable career path, is a skill every parent and teacher will have to painstakingly master.

There are no easy and quick fix solutions here; abilities have to be precisely assessed and the right choices made with intuitive thinking failing which many more young lives will be lost for no plausible reason.

Finally, money, a top notch job or high status may not always fetch happiness but the joy of having helped kids achieve what they always wanted to, will definitely light up every parent’s heart… and keep negativity which kills, away from young minds.