Schools take lead in checking student suicides

Updated on: Wednesday, July 27, 2011

The drop in the number of student suicides this year, no doubt, owes a lot to the state’s attempts at making the system more student-friendly. But it is also owes greatly to the sustained efforts made by schools, which took it upon themselves to check the worrisome trend. They sensitised teachers, hired counsellors, even organised awareness programmes for students and parents. No wonder then the number of suicides by schoolchildren declined this year to eight.

“Apart from awareness programmes, we ensured that our teachers learn basic counselling techniques. Students are close to their teachers and can confide in them comfortably,” said Carl Laurie, principal of Christ Church School in Mazgaon.

Another major boost for students’ self-esteem was the implementation of the Right to Education Act last year. “The Act gave students the assurance that they can get to Class IX with ease. The emphasis on exams was replaced with stress on class work,” said Fr Francis Swamy, principal of Holy Family School in Andheri (E). “Parents have been telling us about the change in their child’s behaviour after the RTE’s implementation and the introduction of the easy evaluation systems.”

In many city schools, over the past year, teachers were trained in identifying students who are prone to depression and directed to inform the school counsellor immediately if they find one.

“Students are getting better at identifying their feelings and know when to seek help. They are opening up about the things that trouble them and come to me frequently with problems linked to their relations with parents and others,” said Upasana Saraf, a counsellor with the Bombay Cambridge group of schools. Saraf added that constant awareness programmes organised by schools for parents and students also helped.

Besides this, many schools started online forums where they encouraged principals and psychiatrists to share their experiences. “Such online forums made it easy for principals to share the problems they face in their schools. Many times, parents too shared their troubles with others and this helped in understanding the situation,” said psychiatrist Dr Harish Shetty.

Schools take lead in checking student suicides

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