VIJAYAWADA: At least 10 students died by suicide in the State, while two others attempted to end their lives in less than 72 hours after the results of Class 11 and 12 exams were declared on Wednesday by the Andhra Pradesh Board of Intermediate Examination. Over 8 lakh students appeared for the exam held in March-April.
The students ended their lives in separate incidents after failing the exams. A 17-year-old boy jumped in front of a running train in Srikakulam district after being unable to clear most of the papers. An 18-year-old second-year intermediate student hung himself at his residence in Visakhapatnam after he couldn’t clear one of the papers.
Another 16-year-old girl died by suicide for failing the first-year intermediate exam. The student suicides were reported in Anakapalle, Chittoor, Anantapur, and NTR Krishna districts. The two students, who attempted to end their lives in Vizianagaram, are undergoing treatment. The increasing cases of student suicide in the State after the announcement of the intermediate results every year has become a serious problem.
While parents and student unions blame the lack of proper counselling on stress management and government policy failure in the colleges, the education department, on the other hand, claims that it had conducted sessions prior to the examinations.
Parents Associations and Students Unions allege that the recommendations made 10 years back by the committee headed by the then Vice-Chairperson of AP State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE) M Neerada Reddy to prevent student suicides and that of a single-member committee headed by former IAS Officer D Chakrapani in 2015 were never implemented by the successive governments. They allege that no action has been taken against the private colleges that pressurise students for marks without addressing academic distress.
S Narahari, president of the Parents Association of Andhra Pradesh, said, “Students are dying by suicide due to government apathy. If the government declared summer holidays, how did the student of a corporate college die by suicide in the hostel in Vijayawada? Severe action should be taken against erring colleges and students should be counselled mandatorily.”
Speaking to TNIE, Secretary of the Board of Intermediate Education MV Seshagiri Babu said that training was imparted to lecturers of junior colleges on how to tackle stress and build confidence among students six months back by psychiatrists. The lecturers, in turn, were asked to counsel the students. “We will conduct a special drive as suicide cases are on the rise in the State. We appeal to students to desist from taking any extreme step and give a missed call to the toll-free number 8004257635 for any help,” he added.
Meanwhile, AP State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (APSCPCR) chairman Kesali Appa Rao opined that parents should create confidence among their children and provide them the much-needed solace at times of distress. “We will come up with a plan of action to prevent student suicides from the next academic year,” he assured.
(If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation - 04424640050 (available 24x7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences' helpline - 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.)