RISING TREND OF SUICIDE AMONG STUDENTS

 

RISING TREND OF SUICIDE AMONG STUDENTS  ,  Daily Current Affairs , RACE IAS : Best IAS Coaching in Lucknow 

Main Examination: General Studies Paper 1

(Indian Society)

Reference:

  • The rising trend of suicides among the youth of the country, especially children below the age of eighteen years, is a matter of grave concern.

Foreword :

  • The incidents of suicides have increased rapidly all over the world, but the number of suicides in India is quite worrying. Depression among the youth is increasing continuously, due to which some youth take heart-rending steps like suicide. Frustrated with life, the increasing trend of suicide is becoming a cause of serious concern.

Cases Related to Suicides:

  • Cases of suicides by competitive students in the country's premier coaching center Kota, Rajasthan.
  • There have been reports of 4 students committing suicide in Kota between May 8 and 25, 2023.
  • Cases of student suicides even in India's best engineering institutes like IITs and some other prestigious higher education institutes.
  • The news of suicide of three students in Delhi alone after the declaration of CBSE Class XII results was shocking.

Causes Behind the suicides:

  • Due to excessive mental pressure, incidents of suicide by students keep coming to the fore.
  • In some cases, students have started dying due to frustration, even after not being able to solve the question paper properly during the examinations and due to lack of proper preparation for the examination.
  • Due to fierce competition in education and career and increasing expectations of parents and teachers, the increasing unnecessary pressure of studies on students is the biggest reason for this, many children are unable to cope with this pressure, due to which depression develops in them.
  • There is a lot of competition among students due to more seats in engineering and medical colleges.
  • Fierce competition for admission to general undergraduate courses in educational institutions like Delhi University.
  • It has been clear from many studies that as the examinations approach, anxiety and depression start increasing in the students and in some cases this increasing depression becomes the reason for their suicide.
  • In such a situation, students remain deeply confused about their education and future. Some are worried about career or job, while some are struggling with family financial crisis. Some children choose the path of suicide after getting less than expected or rank in the examination, because they feel that their future has become bleak due to lagging behind in the race for marks.
  • According to psychiatrists, suicide is a very serious problem and most of the suicides are attributed to depression, which is the main reason for almost 90 percent of such cases. The idea of committing suicide arises inside a person when he cannot get out of any difficulty.
  • As far as the students are concerned, somewhere the parents are also guilty for the rising suicide cases among them. In fact, in most of the cases, it is seen that most of the parents or guardians do not understand their children's ability and interest properly and keeping excessive expectations from them, remain unaware of their mood even at the time of examination.

A look at the statistics of Student Suicides:

  • According to an information given in the Rajya Sabha, in a period of five years between 2018 and 2023, 61 students committed suicide in higher educational institutions of the country like IITs, NITs, IIMs, out of which 33 students were from IITs.
  • If you look at the statistics of the National Crime Records Bureau, where a total of 12,526 students committed suicide in the country in 2020, in 2021 this figure increased to 13,089. Among the students who committed suicide, 56.54 per cent were boys and 43.49 per cent were girls.
  • Out of 10,732 juveniles below the age of 18 years, 864 died due to failure in the examination. NCRB figures of 2021 are enough to shake the society.
  • According to the World Health Organisation, one person commits suicide every forty seconds in the world. That is, every year around 8 lakh people end their lives through suicide worldwide, out of which a large number of suicide cases occur between the age group of 15 to 29 years, while the number of those who attempt suicide is much more than this.
  • According to WHO statistics, 79 percent of suicides in the world are committed by people from lower and middle class countries and a large number of them are young people, on whose shoulders the future of any country rests. In the past years, the incidents of suicide have increased rapidly all over the world, but the number of suicides in India is quite worrying.

Suggestions:

  • The role of people around and family members can prove to be important in preventing suicides. They should support such a person or youth emotionally, mentally or physically, whatever they need, try to boost their morale, so that they don't feel alone.
  • In many cases, such students take wrong steps due to excessive mental pressure. In such cases, parents, close people and teachers can play the biggest role in taking the students out of mental pressure, who explain them sympathetically that their life is not determined by any failure and this life of ours is the only thing that we cannot get again. Encourage them that they can touch the heights of success even by working hard to the best of their ability with positive thinking.

Conclusions:

  • Suicides of students may not be an election issue for any political party, but for the society these suicides are certainly worrying and unfortunate. Though efforts have been made in recent years by the government, social organizations and educational institutions to help students with counseling and provide medical advice if needed, but these efforts need to be further accelerated .
  • Cases like suicide can be reduced by bringing awareness about mental health among the students. It is a big responsibility of the family as well as the society to create such an environment that the thought of suicide does not enter the mind of any youth.

Source - JANSATTA        

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Mains Exam Question

Explaining the reasons behind the increasing suicides among the youth in the Indian society, write your suggestions to prevent it.