In India, every year in the month of June/July the results of the board examinations are out i.e. (the 10th and 12th grade). These exams are very important as their marks are counted for admission in a good university or college. Even decimal point difference in the percentage can cause a lot of difficulty in obtaining admissions.
During these months we hear various cases of students committing suicides if they fail in the exams or fare badly. Some commit suicides even before the results are declared because they are sure they will fail or will just clear the exams. This is a horrible situation. Why should one end his life just because he has failed in a meer board exams? And it is even more ridiculous to end ones life even before the results are out, assuming he will fail in the exam.
I keep wondering what makes these students take such a drastic action. Does this show they are cowards?
I sat thinking for a while what would be the possible reasons why students committed suicides in India and came up with these possible reasons:
1. The existing educational system:
* There are various loopholes in today's educational system in India. The syllabus is strictly written. One has to know the textbooks very well and if possible understand the content or other wise just learn the answers with out understanding it. This is because there is a lot of stress on theory and not on practical work. Some of the textbooks are never updated. We have been studying the textbooks, which were written 10 years ago. In short students lose interest in their studies, as it is very boring, monotonous and tedious.
* The purpose of the educational system is not specified. In spite of spending lots of money for a good education and finishing graduation, many students still don't get jobs. At the end of the day aren't you studying for standing up on your own feet, so that you can earn your living? Then why does one not get a reasonable job after finishing one's education?
2. Pressure of Parents and Teachers:
* There is a lot of pressure on students from teachers and parents. The student is very tense with all this pressure. To some extent it is the teachers and parents right to guide and advise the child. But they SHOULD not force the child to do something, which he does not like. They should be aware of their child's capacity and not expect too much from their child. It should be within limits of the child's capacity.
* They should not compare their child with anyone else's child or even his/her sibling. Every child is different. Everyone is unique and excels in some or other field not necessarily in studies. So the parents and teachers have no right to compare their child.
3. Pressure of the society:
* Today there is lot of pressure of the society on the parents. Sometimes parents feel a big blow is given to their self-esteem if their child fails or gets very bad marks in these crucial exams. So they emotionally torture their child which, is also one of the reasons why the child may commit suicides.
* There are fights between friends or peers, on who is more intelligent than the other this also causes emotional stress and frustration on the child so he commits suicide when it becomes intolerable.
4. Competition:
* As we all know competition has increased tremendously. Lot of pressure is on the student to prove his/her worth in the world.
5. Loss of self-confidence:
* Sometimes students lose faith in themselves. This is if they are constantly failing or because they only hear criticism from their teachers and parents. Due to this they feel that they are hopeless and cannot do anything in life.
* Another reason can be, that though their parents don't force their children to study or don't expect anything from them still the child wants to be perfect and keeps forcing himself to study.
* When this frustration is unbearable they end their life.
These are some of the reasons I think why Students commit suicide in India. I also thought of the possible solutions for this problem.
1. We should bring some reforms in the educational system. Try and make the syllabus more friendly and interesting. Lay stress on overall development of a student. Change the assessment system in the board exams. Change the educational system in such a way that its purpose is specified. That it can ensure, that the student can and will be able to stand on his feet.
2. Secondly we need to talk to all the students who are giving the exams and tell them that the board exams is not the end of the world. We should make them aware of all the possible options available even if they fail in the exams.
3. There should be proper counseling facilities available so that these students can get help when they need it.
4. The parents should not compare them with another student; they should motivate them, stand by them, know the limits of their student's capabilities and not expect more from them. They should not connect their self-esteem and their child's performance in the exam.
5. The teachers should motivate the child from time to time. They should not keep criticising him all the time but advice them in a friendly way.
6. The student should believe in himself and keep in mind that he was born to do something in this world. He should not lose hope.
These are the possible solution.
This article has three parts to it. This is the 1st one. In the 2nd part I have taken a survey to see if this problem prevails in other countries. The 3rd part is a talk with a children’s psychiatrist who will share her thoughts on the issue.
Conclusions based purely on the above survey:
Problem faced by: 5 out of 10 countries.
Reasons:
1) Societies Pressure
2) Low self esteem
3) Exam stress
4) Educational System
5) Pressure from parents and teachers.
Solutions:
1) Counseling
2) Changing the educational system
3) Counseling from parents and teachers
4) Discussing different opportunities in school and colleges.
So if this part of the article was thought provoking do check out the 2nd and 3rd part.
Surveys taken from different countries to see if this prevails in other countries, if so what are the reasons and solutions…
In continuation with the fist part of the article on why students commit suicides if they fail their board exams, I had conducted a survey. In this survey I had asked 3 questions for the survey:
1. Do students in your country commit suicides if they fail in their board exams?
2. What do you think are the reasons behind this?
3. What are the possible solutions?
This is the response I got. I have categorised the survey according to the names of the countries.
India
1. Soujanya Shenoy,
Reason:
I feel lot of emphasis is being given to classroom education at the cost of human development. This does not have any importance in his/her daily life.
Solutions:
Change the educational system where each child gets an opportunity to know his talent and a provision for the development of his talent. I feel that we should have such a system
2. Manas Mittal
Reason:
The approach of the Indian educational system is highly unscientific. Most people believe that science is absolute, that is their is no doubt in things related to science. On the contrary, science is all about doubt, it's about unanswered questions and knowing that even the questions that have been answered may be wrong. I don't blame the education system too much. It is more because of societal pressure. And when you start expecting a lot from yourself.
Pakistan
Amna Kanwar:
No. Students done commit suicides if they fail in their board exams.
Reason:
I think a reason why students or children would commit suicide is basically low self-esteem. Children who feel they are not important and just feel down right lousy tend to think about taking their lives. They feel unloved and not cared for. This may be due to family problems, financial problems or problems at school. At school if students have a good committed teacher and they themselves are hardworking only then do they really prosper. Reality though is that its very difficult to find dedicated teachers or to find teachers for that fact and some of these teachers beat their students if they are not being able to follow the lesson thus sometimes making the students fearful of going to school. This attitude coupled with other problems most definitely leads students to think about ending their lives
Solutions:
Appoint dedicated and hardworking teachers under whom a student could bloom. It is the teacher who can inspire a student to actually study and work hard and to help the students realize their talents and potentials. Students who have emotional problems coming from home should be able to find some sort of anonymous group or organization to which they could pore their problems out to. Talking about their problems and then receiving guidance would help anyone to deal with their troubles and try to overcome them. If such a private youth organization could be established that would definitely make a difference.
United Kingdom
Tom Middleditch:
Yes it does happen here.
Reason:
I suppose the pressure to do well whether it is from parents, school, society or themselves. I think they must have low self-esteem to think that exams and results matter more than your life. Exams are important for your future and you have to do your best but they aren't the most important things. I think I have read about other countries where education and exams results are thought so important that the stress for the children is intolerable.
Solutions:
Offer telephone help lines for students to use so there is always someone non-judgmental to talk to not that isn't really getting to the root of the problem. I suppose we need to get across to everyone that what you are is important not what you do or what exams you passed or who you beat to get there. But this world is a competitive place and to survive in the adult real world you have to compete with others - its not a very nice thought really. I think the schools should promote a less competitive atmosphere within their walls - perhaps its OK to do your best and to succeed in what you want but not to compete so aggressively again each other in a class. Another thing that schools should do, where-ever in the world they are, is to be aware of this problem and to look for signs of stress in their students, perhaps to give advice about how to avoid stress. I think I would add its good to have a relaxing hobby to fall back on and to think ahead to after exams and plan a treat for yourself.
USA
Benjamin Quinto
Yes, I have heard that at some of the ivy-league schools, in particular Harvard University, of several students committing suicide around finals time.
Reason:
Our education system really depresses me, failing the students miserably in primary and secondary school, then putting tertiary school out of financial reach for most. The ivy-league schools (top ones) put an overwhelming burden on their students as well.
Australia:
Tannie Kwong,
No it does not happen here.
Reasons:
It's really the COMPETITION people get when make them depressed
Solutions:
Obviously, there AREN'T any head on way to attach this problem. Maybe counseling (maybe though) will help. Maybe, because of stress...
Greece
Spiros Tzelepis
Such phenomena are few.
Reason:
They happen they are usually related to personal and family problems and they are not exclusively due to the pressure posed upon the students by the educational system.
Solutions:
Best solution is understanding and patience from the side of parents as well as psychological support so that the person is helped to overcome his problems.
South Korea
Yi juing Kim
Such things happen a lot here.
Reasons:
I think it's because of stress and feeling that they are losers when they fail their university entrance exams. In South Korea, there is one more important reason is getting admissions in a good university which, is one of the most important things in person's life. So, when students get bad score it's difficult to be accepted in the good university then, they commit suicide.
Solutions:
Maybe change of education system (in the case of South Korea) if the education system can be changed in the way that every student can find out their special ability not from 'score' but from some creative activity in school.
China - Hong Kong:
Teresa Tse
Yes, this does happen there.
Reasons:
In Primary 6, students who do not do well in school cannot be admitted into 'brand-name' schools. These brand-name schools are usually ones that have a very long history or have past students that are public figures. Most parents are especially keen on their children entering these schools because they believe that their children will have a 'promised' future if they study at one of these schools. Usually pressure from parents to get into a good school, or to do well in public exams. I haven't heard of students who take the public exams first and then commit suicide, they usually commit suicide before they take the exams because it's the pressure that they cannot deal with.
Solutions:
As I have just taken my public exams, the torture of public exams is still fresh in my mind. You cannot sleep and when you do, you feel like you haven't studied anything at all during the day and then you stay up for the rest of the night worrying. You also get sick really easily, I remember that I was so sick that I had to go to the doctor 3 times in a
week. I think it really helps to talk to friends who are taking the exam with you because they understand what's happening and how you feel, it really helped me. There will be a time when you're studying that you ask yourself why you're doing this or you feel like you're going to give up, but just set your goals (make sure it's realistic) and keep your mind focused on it.
China
Jeff Gu
Reason:
China has its national university entrance examination and that's the most important exam, probably, in one student's life. Because of the large number of students, the pressure and competition for this exam is extremely intense. Students spent their past 12 years study, to some extent, preparing for this exam and there will be no additional chances. So failure of enrolling at one satisfying university will crash some students' courage, since family and teachers have looked them high. This situation is exacerbated in the poor region of China, since the students' family have devoted everything they have for their study. Last year, some student's committed suicide just in this case.
Solution:
The solution is to make people aware of various success paths so they won't put
everything they have on the weight of this exam. Second is to set up more
universities and colleges. Third is to control population growth rate. The most
important method is to alter people's narrow mind and focus on this exam and make
various success paths truly practical. This two side's implementation will be
effective to the situation in China in my point of view.
Canada:
Jacqueline Wright
Teen suicide because of exam results may happen, but would be pretty unusual. I hear that teen suicide has increased in Canada, but I think usually because of loneliness and stuff like that.
I think lots of organizations in Canada are trying to help, but it must be hard as it keeps happening.
South Africa
Mary Carman
Heard of it occasionally but not a grave problem here.
Reason:
I suppose the reason why they might kill themselves could be because so much emphasis is put on getting good results in order to study elsewhere and have a future.
A talk with Candy Hilldrup - bilingual psychotherapist/psychoanalyst on why Students commit suicides if they fail in their board exams…
These are her thoughts on why students commit suicides if they fail their board exams or don't get good marks.
First, every person is unique. Therefore there are no cut and dried formulas, which allow us to understand every suicide (and worse still, be able to read the "signals" and act in a preventive way or at least "try to help").
I can only suggest certain "fragile emotional areas" which, when combined/compiled, can lead to suicide in teenagers. And as you will see, many of these are inter-related.
1. Low self-esteem, not a solid "self-image", not much inner certainty of self-worth.
2. Depression, feelings of hopeless about life, love, the future.
3. The profound desire to be "recognized", to feel important, appreciated without any hope of achieving this goal. Here we touch on the competitive element found in schools - the need to get top grades, be the best, get ahead, be recognized, prove one's worth, intelligence, etc. This drive can come from the outside in the form of parents, or be completely integrated/internalized so that the person "drives" himself, attacking himself for any grade, which is less than perfect even if the parents don't say anything. To the adolescent, "failure" at school exams, means a loss of face, humiliation, and no hope. Most teenagers have a hard time with "moderation", so a failure becomes permanent. The present is projected into the future so there is no hope
4. I would also have to say that there are feelings of deep anger and frustration, which accompany this feeling of hopelessness. A deep feeling of injustice, "that it (whatever "it" may be) is not fair" alternating with feelings of desperate helplessness. In adult suicides (which are not the result of a desire to end physical suffering due to terminal illness), we often say that "suicides are disguised murders". This means that often in suicides, one finds a hidden desire to punish someone else, to seek revenge The person (teenager or adult) often feels a combined desire to terminate their own emotional suffering while, on a hidden level, also wishing to make the "destined" person feel guilty...."Look what you made me do! My death will be on your conscience for the rest of your life. Now live with it!!" In my clinical experience, it is very, very important to get to this anger as fast as possible and to find out who is meant to be "punished (girlfriend, boyfriend, friend or often, hidden, hidden, hidden the suicide is addressed to the parents for not understanding and helping--which compounds the tragedy). I generally accompany this "interpretation" with the fact that no one can ever prevent someone else from committing suicide if that person is really determined to end his or her life--no matter how many precautions one may take. That living or dying is always a personal choice and remains an option for each of us at any time. And like no one can prevent someone else from committing suicide, no one can oblige someone else to live, go towards life. Each person must choose. However, being there at "the right time" can often help someone choose the side of life....
5. Lack of meaningful relationships: family and/or friends. When one can talk about how depressed he feels, this often helps--like somehow sharing the burden with someone who, at least, understands what he is going through even if he can't really help, helps the depressed teenager feel less alone. Anyone who even tries to commit suicide is asking for help, begging to be heard. But teenagers are especially vulnerable to depressive feelings (and all the above mentioned emotional fragile areas) because they are still in the process of defining their identity, who they are, and who they want to be. Adolescence is a very troubling time, at best, full of inner emotional turmoil and lots of contradictory feelings (like the striving to become independent while still needing the parents profoundly on many level leading to both inner and outer conflicts).
In my opinion, the conflicts (both inner and outer with family and friends, both physical and psychological) of adolescence, combined with the hormonal upheaval, and search for identity make the teenager especially susceptible to depressive feelings which can lead to suicide.
She is a bilingual psychotherapist/psychoanalyst with psychoanalytical training and is working both in a French institution with disturbed children as psychotherapist as well as having her own private practice. She studied, trained and worked at the University of Chicago with Bruno Bettelheim in the US and since coming to France, She has completed yet another degree at the Sorbonne. She has further done psychoanalytic training with Joyce McDougall, internationally well-known teaching member of the Psychoanalytical Society in Paris.
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