PATHANAMTHITTA: “It was her big dream to secure a nursing job and help her parents. She approached two or three banks for educational loans in July to continue her nursing course. But the banks did not pay heed to her requests. She was disappointed over this which forced her to take the extreme step. I cannot accept the fact that she is no more,” said a close relative of Athulya R.
The 20-year-old Athulya, a native of Eliyarackal, Konni, died by suicide on Saturday after she was forced to discontinue her nursing course due to financial constraints. Athulya’s father Hari has a small vegetable shop. “Her mother Rajalakshmi is an MGNREGA worker.
Athulya’s elder sister Sreelakshmi has just completed a BSc nursing course and her elder brother Anandhu is unemployed. Athulya was disappointed as the banks were not ready to sanction an educational loan which would have helped her continue her studies. The nursing college authorities had asked her to pay Rs 1.95 lakh for joining the class. Her class is about to begin in August,” said Athulya’s uncle Rajesh Kumar.
After completing her Plus II Commerce course, Athulya went to Bengaluru after a charitable trust promised her admission for General Nursing in a nursing institution in Bengaluru.
“The agency promised us that they would arrange a bank loan and the students need to repay the loan only after completing the course. Believing their words, Athulya and I went to Bengaluru in August 2022.
However, the trust members first arranged a paying guest facility and later they shifted us to a hostel there. However, they didn’t take us to the college for two months. In October, the charitable trust management told us to return to our native places for one month’s leave. We went back to Bengaluru in January 2023 and started to attend the class at the nursing college there. But the college authorities asked the students to pay the fee as the trust did not pay our fee,” said Athulya’s classmate at the nursing college.
“Though we approached the trust management many times, they made false promises. Finally, we approached the police and registered cases against them. Many of the students had to return to Kerala. However, Athulya wanted to continue the course and paid Rs 10,000 with the help of her family. For paying the course fees, she approached banks. But banks did not sanction the required loan. This forced her to take the extreme step,” she said.
Discussing suicides can be triggering for some. However, suicides are preventable. In case you feel distressed by the content or know someone in distress, call Sneha Foundation - 04424640050 (available 24x7).