Twenty-four hours before the Intermediate Public Examinations (IPE) results were released in Telangana, suicide helplines began to buzz ceaselessly.
Rohan (name changed), a class topper, was awaiting his Intermediate second-year exam results to be released on May 9. Confident that the boy would excel in the exams, his parents and the college management began preparations for the celebrations for the next day.
But, instead of enjoying this phase of anticipation, what gripped the brilliant boy’s mind was severe anxiety and extreme fear of results. Rohan was among the many students who sought counselling from a suicide helpline that saved his life. However, this was not the case with eight other students like him who succumbed to exam fear and ended their lives.
Every year, thousands of young teenagers in the State who believe their lives solely depend upon the exam results get to the verge of breaking down from ‘anticipatory anxiety’. What cannot be ignored is the fact that neither their parents nor their teachers never noticed them exhibiting any suicidal tendencies.
3,600 suicides in seven years
As per the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, there were over 3,600 students who died by suicide in Telangana between 2014 and 2021, and as many as 567 students ended their lives in 2021.
The Tele Mental Health Assistance and Networking Across States (MANAS) service, launched by the government of India on World Mental Health Day 2022, alone received 1,620 distress calls on May 8, a day before the Intermediate exam results were released. Of these, 1,256 calls are from students who needed help with anxiety.
On the day of the Intermediate results, on May 9, the helpline received 1,150 calls; on the next day, 372 calls were received. Since its launch, the helpline has been receiving about 150 to 200 calls a day, according to sources.
Volunteers at Roshini, a suicide helpline started in 1997 in Secunderabad, say that they counsel about 600 people every month. About 30 percent of those visit the centre to talk to a volunteer in person, and the rest contact through a helpline number, said the Director of the NGO, Swarna Raju.
The exam trauma
Jawahar Lal Nehru, a counsellor working in the Tele-MANAS centre located at the Indian Institute of Health and Family Welfare in Hyderabad, says, “The trauma of exam fear begins with the child worrying about the reaction of the parents and the society to his or her exam score.”
These parents fail to develop the right kind of connection with their children. Ideally, the child must be free to tell the parents that they are expecting fewer marks on the day of the examination. But that does not happen because of the lack of intimacy between the child and the parent, he says.
‘Important to notice signs of depression’
B. Revanth, 18, was among the eight students who ended their lives last week in Telangana. Though he failed in his first-year intermediate exams and again in his second year, there was no pressure on him from his family, says his uncle Anil Kumar.
“He planned to pursue engineering courses and was very good at studies growing up. He even answered all the questions of his teachers. Assuming the poor grades were because of his bad handwriting, we even applied for revaluation. On May 9th, the results day, he seemed very normal. His friends had cleared the exams, and he spoke to them that day. But, when we went to his room to call him for dinner that night, we found him dead,” he says.
Senior volunteer at Roshini Ushashree says that in a few cases, the treatment and counselling help those students who are under tremendous mental stress, but there are also those who require medication to treat their condition.
“Everyone should have a basic knowledge about the signs of depression and how to notice them in a friend, colleague or a child” UshashreeSenior volunteer, Roshini mental health helpline
“Everyone should have a basic knowledge about the signs of depression and how to notice them in a friend, colleague or a child,” says Ms. Ushashree
“We address students, teachers and parents separately to help identify the signs and symptoms of depression. People might appear very normal on the surface. Especially teens tend to be unsure of such feelings because of the rapid biochemical changes their bodies and minds undergo,” she says.
The stigma attached to mental health issues makes it harder for them to reach out. Teachers, too, should be able to notice if a student exhibits traits of depression and be able to inform the parents or refer the student to a psychologist, the counsellor says.
Pushed to the brink
As per the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, there were over 3,600 students who died by suicide in Telangana between 2014 and 2021
| Year | Female students died by suicide | Male students died by suicide | Total student suicides |
| 2014 | 162 | 191 | 353 |
| 2015 | 214 | 277 | 491 |
| 2016 | 135 | 214 | 349 |
| 2017 | 217 | 287 | 504 |
| 2018 | 196 | 232 | 428 |
| 2019 | 117 | 249 | 426 |
| 2020 | 184 | 305 | 489 |
| 2021 | 227 | 340 | 567 |
Impact on other students
Meanwhile, when a student dies by suicide, it adversely affects his friends and classmates, say volunteers at Roshini. Highlighting a case of a Class XII student’s death by suicide, they said that the student’s younger brother and friends were severely impacted.
“This had happened during the Intermediate examinations, and the other students could not cope with the loss of their friend. Even the parents of other children were shocked and worried. We had to send a few volunteers from the school to talk to his peers, parents and others,” they said.
‘We only wish we knew’
Sachin Kumar (name changed), a parent of an Intermediate student who died by suicide, says that he did not have any clue about his child’s mental condition. “He was an all-rounder and had always been cheerful growing up. My family, including my wife and two sons, has been happy, and we communicated well, or at least I thought so.
“After losing my eldest son, I went through his books and things in his room and only then understood how much he struggles. He was battling clinical depression, and we could not recognise it. We only wish we knew about it in time to help him,” he says.
Need for parent-child bonding
Meanwhile, the volunteers from Tele-MANAS say that many times, it is the parents who call them, bombarding them with questions and saying unreasonable things like “My child has ditched me” and so on.
“We tell the parents never to judge their children and invite failure and that it is good to taste failure at an early age,” they say and urge the parents to build a strong bond with their children.
However, we are available all the time. Even for a child from a remote corner of a district like Mancherial or Karimnagar, where the child has no one to listen to his or her plight, we are available to talk to them for 35-40 minutes and persuade them to chose life and not death, they add.
Semester system also at fault
Having a semester system is also a contributor to the situation. The child who was earlier studying six subjects in one year is now having to study the same subjects in just six months which puts them under pressure, says Joint Secretary of Hyderabad School Parents Association Venkat Sai K.
High-pressure corporate institutions
Due to the targets set at corporate educational institutions, there is too much pressure put on the students to deliver outstanding performance. Advertisements given by institutions showcasing names and ranks of the toppers also create a sense of fear in the child, says Shekar Rao, president of Telangana Recognized Schools Management Association.
“Today, in this competitive world, academic excellence is not the priority. Organisations are looking for a candidate with good communication skills, language and computer skills. Parents, instead of pressuring the child to score high marks, should focus on whether their child has skills to survive in the competitive world,” he says.
Ashish Naredi, Chairman of Indic International School Hyderabad, says that the educational system is also at fault apart from the parents and institutions. Exams are milestones; if one crosses them, it is okay, and if not, there are so many things to do and succeed in life. Many institutions, under the pressure of results, cut out every other activity that gives the child happiness. As a society, we must destigmatize failure and provide a long-term plan for the children rather than limiting their options.
‘Hardwired to constantly seek validation’
Spandana Reddy, a psychologist, says that factors, including how we train our kids to score well and the language used at home to teach them and evaluate their performance, affect the child profoundly.
In the southern part of the country, marks below 80 percent are considered bad. With the primary caregivers, parents or guardians, teachers and others enforcing the kids to be competitive from a very young age, they tend to get hardwired to constantly seek validation.
“Parents must engage in conversations about the child’s interests and hobbies and ask themselves if they can support the child if they decide to do something else other than the ‘mainstream courses’ like engineering or medicine.”Spandana ReddyPsychologist
“Parents must engage in conversations about the child’s interests and hobbies and ask themselves if they can support the child if they decide to do something else other than the ‘mainstream courses’ like engineering or medicine. Getting through in a family with stubborn parents pushing down their predetermined goals on them is tiring for the child, says Ms. Spandana Reddy.
‘Allow the flowers to bloom’
Meanwhile, Dr. Ajit Pathak, national president of the Public Relations Society of India (PRSI), asks civil society to give confidence to youngsters to learn from their mistakes and succeed in their lives.
“Allow the flowers to bloom. We all should fill our surroundings with positivity and friendliness,” he says at a webinar on “Student Suicides and Societal Role” organised by PRSI.
Y.Babji, secretary general of PRSI, notes that more than the provisions in the law, the behaviour of parents, peers and teachers plays a role in stopping the spate of suicides.
The importance of spending quality time with adolescent children in the family was stressed. “Make your kids understand that life is beautiful and you love them for who they are,” the seminar tells parents.
Roshni suicide prevention helpline number and email ID are: 8142020033/44 and roshnihelp@gmail.com, available from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on all days.
