State ropes in TISS to study teen suicides

Updated on: Wednesday, March 23, 2011

The Maharashtra government has woken up to the alarming rise in students choosing to end their lives and has roped in the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) to shed light on this worrying trend. The school education department led by senior Congress leader Rajendra Darda has asked TISS to examine the reasons why school-going children in Maharashtra are committing suicides and also recommend preventive measures.

Exam pressure is the main reason. Between January 1 and June 30, 2010, around 110 students ended their lives; 26 were from the Mumbai-Thane belt said a senior school education department official. “All of them were in the 15-22 age group, and had failed in one or two subjects in either the SSC or HSC examination,” he added.

In some cases, anticipation of failure was listed as the reason, said the official. “We have compiled this data ourselves. Our officials collected the information from victims’ parents or relatives,” the official added.

The TISS study will examine the role of the family and school in the child’s academic life, performance-related pressure as well as the inability of the student to meet his or her own expectations.

“These are just a few broad outlines,” the official said. The study will look into how children should deal with academic stress, and list ways parents and teachers can identify troubled students and help them face their fears in a healthy manner. The Maharashtra government is also examining the possibility and practicality of introducing seminars on dealing with stress as part of the school syllabus.

“TISS has submitted a comprehensive research proposal on its methodology, along with recent trends in student suicides across the world. We hope that once the study is completed, we will be able to put an end to student suicides, particularly when dismal performance in the board exams is the reason for them to take such as extreme step,” said the official.

He added that TISS researchers will be focussing on school and junior college students in the 11- to 18- year age group. They will be selected from eight districts in Maharashtra.

“It has been proposed that 1, 000 students from each zone will be interviewed—500 boys and 500 girls. In addition, TISS will interact with school principals, teachers, supervisors, psychiatrists, social workers, psychologists and remedial educators,” he said.

In its proposal, TISS said: “Teenage suicide is a growing health concern. It is the third leading cause of death for young people, under such circumstances, drastic measures need to be taken at various levels.”

EXAM STRESS

• A senior education official told TOI that 110 students in Maharashtra ended their lives between January 1 and June 30, 2010. All were in the 15-22 age group. 26 were from the Mumbai-Thane belt

• Failure in exams such as the HSC and SSC was the main reason

• The TISS study will interview 8, 000 students from eight districts in Maharashtra

State ropes in TISS to study teen suicides

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