BENGALURU: A large number of children rescued from various public spots in the city last month were found to have left their home due to exam fear, say organisations involved in rescue and rehabilitation of destitute children. An average of 150 children are rescued at Bengaluru’s KSR railway station every month, while around 50-60 children are found at the 10 other railway stations in the city, and another 30-40 kids are rescued from various bus stops, especially Majestic Bus Stand. Overall, 250-300 children are rescued every month by various non-government organisations.
A majority of these cases involve children who run away from home due to family issues, said Father Ruben Mathews, director of BOSCO Railway Childline. However, last month, 40-50 children cited examination pressure as the reason for taking the step.
“Usually, these children come from the northern parts of India, such as Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha, for job opportunities. But last month, among the children rescued were those who came from parts of North Karnataka, like Haveri, Kalaburagi and Belagavi, saying that they cannot cope with the exam stress,” Mathews said.
Children aged between 11-16 years are often also found at railway stations because they want to access free Wi-fi. “Students bring their smartphones and bunk exams to avoid the stress. They go to the railway station and stay there for a while, just to surf the internet,” said Joyce Kennedy, coordinator of Open Shelter at BOSCO.
Bengaluru has emerged as ‘a safe haven’ for migrant children, according to Nagasimha Rao, director of Child Rights Trust. “There are better job opportunities here and one can make money easily. It is easier to travel via train without a ticket and they can hide in crowded areas,” Rao said, adding that no survey has been done on the number of destitute migrant children in the city. “There needs to be an MoU signed between states so that Child Welfare Committees and railway stations can work together in reducing the number of runaway children,” he said.
The behaviour of running away is mostly a result of an avoidance mechanism or poor problem solving skill set, according to Dr Venkatesh Babu, a psychiatrist at Fortis hospital. “Children who run away from home occasionally try to escape the humiliation or feeling of embarrassment to an anticipated situation. But in cases where this is a regular phenomenon, it could be understood as mechanism of power struggle used by children to control their parents and families,” he said.