Context: 

This editorial is based on the news “UPSC aspirant sets self on fire, jumps off 3rd floor of his  house in UP” which was published in the Times of India. This article expresses concern over rising Rising Student Suicides In India.

Student Suicides In India: Recent Examples: 

• A 18-year-old girl’s death by suicide in Rajasthan’s Kota came on the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi held his annual interaction with students preparing for board exams.
• A 26-year-old UPSC aspirant ended his life by immolating himself and jumping off his house in Jhansi. 

Student Suicides In India: Concerns & Challenges

• Ignore of Student’s Emotions: In Kota, the teen’s heartbreaking last words expose an ecosystem that has no qualms about ignoring the vulnerabilities and emotional needs of children.
• Negative Impacts: Students also convey a sense of hopelessness and guilt, a pointer to a society that does not seem to care.
• Failure of Recognition: There is failure of recognition concerning factors of mental health challenges.
• High Cause of Death: Suicide is the number one cause of death amongst those aged between 15 and 30 years.
• No Registration For Student Suicides In India : The concerning numbers do not get registered in the national consciousness and needs introspection.
• Low Priority: Student welfare is low on the priority list.

Student Suicides In India: Need of the Hour

• Competition for Self-Improvement: Students need to “compete with themselves and not with peers”.
• No Academic Comparison by Parents: Parents do not need to treat children’s report cards as their own visiting card. They need to accept their children for who they are.
• Need for Encouragement: Worth encouraging is a continuous process of engagement, where students, parents and educators can open up to support groups.
• Fun Activities by Institutes: After a spate of suicides last year, institutes were asked to conduct fun activities.
• Executives Involvement: The District Collector plans to have a weekly dinner at hostels and discuss issues the engineering and medical aspirants may be facing.