Suicides by students up 26% in 5 yrs—stressing the need for education reforms--ToI-2.11.11

Anahita Mukherji TNN 

New Delhi: Here’s a compelling argument for education reforms in the country: student suicides increased by 26% from 2006 to 2010, with metros Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai having most victims, in that order. And this is just the official data. 
    While 5,857 student suicides were reported in 2006, the figure jumped to 7,379 in 2010, according to data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). In other words, 20 students killed themselves every day in 2010, something both academicians and mental health professionals blame on a flawed education system where performance pressure ranks above all else. 
    For the first time in the past five years, Maharashtra recorded the largest number of students killing themselves, followed by West Bengal. Over the past decade or so, the two states have only interchanged positions in the top, a phenomenon unexplained by even educationists. Delhi, as a city, alone accounted for 133 deaths in 2010, while as a state, it accounted for 166 deaths.
    “The examination system and the selection process for institutions of higher education weigh heavily on young people,” says Shyam Menon, vice chancellor of Ambedkar University in Delhi. “The volume of students passing out of the school education system and vying for admission to tertiary education has dramatically increased over the years, with levels of competition increasing too. At a time when higher education can result in social mobility, the stakes are very high. Today, there is a greater link between employability and higher education.” 
    Menon believes changes in the education system over the years reflect the changes in the Indian middle class and their high aspirations, which push young people to perform or perish. 
    Psychiatrist Dr Sanjay Chugh feels the NCRB data is the most reliable evidence that things are only going from bad to worse in the Indian education system. Chugh blames a myopic education system for forcing students to learn what they may never need in life. “Why do we expose our children to such nonsense, with examinations becoming a ‘do or die’ situation where students need a minimum percentage to get into a halfway decent college,” asks Chugh. 
    An inadequate system, coupled with lack of proper social support, pushes students over the brink, says Chugh.