Student Suicides – What are the deep rooted problems?

Causes of student suicides :-

• What is causing them to suicide –
  • Pressure in studies.
  • Family problems
  • Physical & mental Illnesses.
  • Drug addiction.
  • Love failures.
  • Financial problems.
  • Failure in exams.
  • Unemployment.
  • Unable to adjust to the college’s culture.
  • Self-deprecating.
  • Depression.
  • Loneliness.
  • Physical & mental abuse.
• But the underlying causes are different. They are –
  • Lack of support from colleges in the times of distress.
  • High expectations of society.
  • Rote learning in our education system is making the college education dull, boring and purposeless.
  • Rigid structure of the syllabus & no freedom to skip the subjects.
  • Unbearable emphasis on marks.
  • Mental illnesses are still a taboo subject in India.
  • Incentivising competition and comparison between students.
  • Mechanical lifestyle.
  • Lack of importance to mental health in India.
  • Low budget allocation on mental health.
  • Violence and politics in college campuses.
  • India has 6000 certified psychologists approximately. That means less than 1 psychologist for every 2 lakh people.

Facts :-

• India has one of the ‘world’s highest suicide rates among youth’.
• According to Assocham survey, 72% of the students in India don’t know how to handle pressure.
• 71% of the students have broken relationships with friends & family.
• Earlier, on an average societal pressure used to start from 19 years age, but now it is reduced to 14 years.

Steps taken :-

• University Grants Commission (UGC) ordered all universities to establish counselling centers equipped with certified psychologists.

Some of the Best practices worldwide :-

• ‘University of West Georgia’ trains teachers to support students as psychologists. If the problem is serious, students are sent to college’s counselling center.
• ‘University of California’ has ‘Mind Spa’. It helps students in many ways including audio & video classes, head massages.
• ‘New Jersey Institute of Technology’ conducts special classes for drug addicts & Love failures. It even takes the help of expert psychologists in the city & bears the total expenses by itself.

Conclusion :-

We need to concentrate on the deep rooted problems, such as societal pressure and the loopholes in the education system. Every college needs a counselling center and friendly environment.

Students must be taught about the possible problems in life and the ways to deal with it. Emotional strength should be emphasized more than studies.

Afterwords :- What is your opinion on this topic. Express your thoughts in the comment section below.

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