We often hear from the newspapers that students who had failed in the 10 th, +2 exams commit suicide. And recently an engineering student from an IIT who scored very poor marks in the exams had committed suicide. Such suicides are nothing but a social evil. Pathetic, really pathetic.
When the actual cause of such deaths are probed or analyzed deeply, it indicates some inherent weakness either in our educational system which has an over emphasis on marks or grade and the subjects which are rather uninteresting and impractical and utterly useless or a lack of security or fear over the future on the part of the hapless victims, the students, who commit suicide or the parents who are over anxious and with over expectation on their wards and ever ready to bombard them as and when the results are out.
Before embarking upon to analyze the remedies available to avert such unnecessary evils, a few words about the context or the background may not be out of place. Most of the students commit suicides in the adolescent stage between 16 and 20 age group, who are yet to fully know about the realities of this world and so with very little understanding of this world. They should know that education is one of the ways and means to go up in life and it is not the only way to eke out one’s livelihood. There are other decent ways and means to earn. They should know that students who fare better in the exams have a better background, co-operation from his/her family members. A student should note whether he/she has such backgrounds. In case of their absence, he/she should take the classic examples of Judge Muthusamy Iyer, who had very poor background and he was forced to read for exams under the street lights.
Whatever his difficulties may be, the student should discuss it either with his class teacher or his parents. Certainly they will help. Parents should have a constant watch over his ward’s performance in the school or college exams. As far as possible they should try to remove his difficulties, either by discussing with the students, seeking the assistance of the teachers. Above all they should be very sympathetic and friendly to their wards and instill in them self-confidence and a feeling of security.
In case their child is low in confidence on the eve of the exam, the parents should encourage them towards self-confidence and also create in them a feeling of security. Counseling plays a very vital role in this regard. Even after taking all these steps, still the student is low in confidence, it is the duty of the parents to show or suggest alternate avenues available to the students. Above all treating one’s child as a friend rather than as a child, will certainly put the child in a better frame of mind, even if he/she performs miserably in an exam.