CHENNAI: State board Class 10 and Class 12 results will be announced on Monday. And like every year, many students and parents are apprehensive about it. It’s this time of the year that everything about a child is reduced to mere marks.
For a State like TN, which reports a considerable number of student suicides, this societal attitude is worrisome. According to a National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) 2019 report, 914 students took their lives in TN that year. The Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India 2020 report of the NCRB showed that 83 students killed themselves in TN that year owing only to failure in examination.
Counsellors, teachers, mental-health experts, and parenting coaches advise parents and students to take the results in the right spirit instead of considering it as the end of the road. “Due to cut-throat competition and societal pressure, board exam results have become a status symbol for many parents. They, however, shouldn’t discuss the results of their children with friends or relatives and shouldn’t worry about what they say. The only thing a parent should worry about is the well-being of their child,” said Kesang Menezes, a parent educator and co-founder of Parenting Matters.
She said parents and students need to understand that board exam results were not a passport to a better future. “There are numerous examples of dropouts becoming millionaires. Life always gives opportunities to improve ourselves and instead of dwelling in failure, parents should motivate their children to perform better next time,” said Menezes.
Mental health experts feel parents, teachers, and relatives should be cautious with their words and keep a close watch on the activities of the children after the results come. “It’s very important for parents and teachers to support children unconditionally and help them tide over exam failure. Many parents unknowingly taunt or scold their children in front of relatives over poor exam results. This puts immense emotional stress on class 10-12 students, who are mainly teenagers and don’t know how to deal with this humiliation. This may lead to breakdowns or suicidal thoughts,” said Dr P Poorna Chandrika, director of Institute of Mental Health.
“If the child becomes agitated over petty issues, becomes depressed or silent, parents should take them as warning signs and talk to the child or counsel them. It is important for the child to know that their value is much more than a number,” she added. Teachers highlighted that parent should never forget that students wrote exam after two years of pandemic.
If in distress, call 104 for health department’s helpline, or 044- 24640050 for Sneha suicide helpline
Years leave their mark
Students wrote exam after two years of pandemic. Apart from learning loss, they had to cope with stress rising from financial problems in the family and death of kin