Rise in student suicides is alarming
There are reports about an increase in the number of student suicides in the country in recent years and they should cause particular concern because the health and attitudes to life of the younger segment of the population are crucial for the nation’s future.
According to these reports, incidents of student suicides have increased at a high annual rate, surpassing the population growth rate, overall suicide trends, and the rate of suicides among other sections such as farmers.
A report released recently at the IC3 Annual Conference and Expo at Delhi, based on National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, shows that student suicides have increased by 4 per cent annually while the overall suicide numbers increased by 2 per cent.
In 2022, male students constituted 53 per cent of the total student suicides, but female student suicides increased by 7 per cent over the previous year. The actual situation could be worse because the numbers are under-reported for various reasons.
Student suicides should be taken seriously because youngsters who are on the threshold of life usually tend to be hopeful and positive about life.
At their age, most of them do not face the individual, family and social experiences that drive some people to suicide. That makes student suicides a serious social problem.
Various reasons have been attributed for it. There is severe academic and peer pressure on students, and many of them are forced to make academic or career choices which they do not like.
There are financial reasons, too. Many have anxieties about their future. As many as 69 IIT students ended their lives between 2019 and 2023. Kota, the coaching hub in Rajasthan, has regularly witnessed student suicides because many students there are unable to cope with the stress of preparing for competitive exams. There have even been reports of children as young as 12 years ending lives or attempting to.
Mental health issues need to be taken more seriously by schools and colleges. Most institutions focus attention only on the academic side and ignore aspects like sports and other activities that play an important role in enabling students to develop healthy personalities.
Even institutions that can afford to provide counselling for students do not offer such facilities to them. Parents have a greater responsibility. They should realise that their children have their own lives, and they should not force the children to live lives according to their wishes.
The world is getting more competitive and individualistic. But the community should inculcate in children the idea that success is not stitched of only one cloth and there are many kinds of lives and ways of living. The problem of student suicides should be addressed at various levels, and society should consider it an important challenge.