TISS moots policy to curb student suicides

The report was compiled by TISS professor and project coordinator Katy Gandevia. Records published in 2009 by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs stated that 2,010 students committed suicide across India due to examination stress. Of these,227 were from Maharashtra and 15 from Mumbai. In the wake of a spurt in student suicides in Maharashtra,the state had asked TISS to study the reasons and identify ways to deal with it. The study has identified three main sources of stress—school,family and society/environment.

The report says a trained counsellor should be appointed as few schools,among those studied,had a full-time counsellor. It recommends that a database of trained counsellors should be made available to all schools. “Counsellors must be reporting to the school education department and regular monitoring must be initiated,” it adds. The report also puts forward a suggestion to educat school professionals about suicide warning signs and moots inclusion of suicide prevention education in the teaching curriculum.

Training peer counsellors is another major recommendation. “At adolescent stage,children feel most comfortable talking to their peers rather than their adults. It is of extreme importance to tap this resource of peers who can provide support. Teachers should identify these students who can double up as peer counsellors and closely monitor the peer support programme… A mentor-mentee programme should be initiated at the school-level where each child is allotted a mentor (who can be a teacher or a senior student).”

The involvement of parents in the lives of children have been identified as key to reducing stress levels. Initiating regular parent-teacher meetings is another suggestion. “All those interviewed felt that parents should get more involved in the lives of their children. They should spend time in knowing their child,his/her likes and dislikes,friends,personality and accordingly provide guidance to the child whenever he/she needs it…Parents must take initiatives in developing a healthy parent-child communication. They must encourage open discussion and not inculcate fear where children feel scared to share their feelings for the fear of punishment or disappointing parents,” says the report.

As many as 330 students from private schools,270 from BMC schools and 140 from colleges participated in the survey. Also,around 73 principals,149 teachers,146 parents and 18 officers working in the government’s education departments were also interviewed.

How to tackle it

Problem 1: Poor student-teacher ratio where almost 18% BMC students,13% private school students and 19% college students felt their teachers didn’t pay attention to their problems.

Solution: Reduce the high burden of students on a single teacher to improve student-teacher relationship and thereby quality of education being imparted.

Problem 2: Academic stress where almost 1/3rd children in private schools and colleges were dissatisfied with their progress in school and 30% college students found studies burdensome. Almost 25% school students and 35% college students mentioned that they feared exams.

Solution: Improving the institute environment by using creative mediums of teaching,not giving too much emphasis on unhealthy competition but inculcating a sense of learning in the child. The process of learning should be the focus and not the results in the exams. Parents have suggested monitoring by government.

Problem 3: Stress from family and high expectation from parents add to the burden of children to excel and this leads to stress and fear of failure.

Solution: Don’t load children with their unfulfilled wishes; instead they should help children in studies and work closely with the teachers to keep their child on the growth track.

Problem 4: Society or environment has been identified as major contributor to stress levels. Almost 25% of students fell in the category of poor social adjustment.

Solution: Children irrespective of caste,religion,gender should be treated equally.