Rising student suicides at premier institutes expose the pressures of competition, academic expectations and parental demands, underscoring the urgent need to address systemic causes and student well-being
Sambeet Dash
IITs, the premier technical institutions, are back in the news again, this time due to yet another suicide by a student at IIT Mumbai. 173 IIT students died by suicide in 20 years, 70% in the last 10 years. And this disease isn’t limited to the IITs alone.
NITs, the second-most premier technical institutes in India (I am a proud alumnus of NIT Rourkela), aren’t immune to this epidemic. The cream of the cream used to clear a fair, highly competitive exam to earn a seat in these coveted technical institutes. Today, I also believe it’s still the same.
A few months ago, a 19-year-old B.Tech student, Diksha Dubey, who hailed from Bihar, allegedly died by suicide on Thursday at the National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra, in the state of Haryana. Such incidents are happening too often for comfort and are raising concerns about students’ mental health.
Regardless of whether they are from a premier institute or not, it is so sad to see men and women at such a young age ending their lives. It needs to be noted that suicides have grown exponentially in educational institutes these days. Part of the reason for this was cited by professors from IIT Madras to a friend of mine who lives in the United States and regularly visits his alma mater whenever he makes a trip to India (America is filled with folks from IITs and NITs. It is said that if you blindly throw a stone, chances are it will hit someone who passed from an IIT or NIT).
As confided by his professors to him, these days many mediocre students are churned out of innumerable coaching institutes and manage to clear the entrance test. Once in, when left on their own, they can’t cope with the aggressive curriculum and choose to end their lives, unable to face failure and an over-expectant milieu, including their parents. Every person has the right to live. It hurts the most when someone commits suicide. And it hurts more if that person happens to be young. Like every man and woman of their age, they too have a dream, but unwisely decide to end their unfulfilled dream by killing themselves.
When does a person decide to end his or her life? It’s not just because of frustration with life; it’s more due to their lack of care or concern for the rest of the world, which includes their near and dear ones. If I ever feel suicidal for some reason, I may resist that thought for a moment if I think of my family, if not myself. Apparently, they don’t care about their loved ones and decide to end their lives on the spur of the moment, never ever getting a second chance to regret it.
Suicides on college campuses aren’t so uncommon. Surging teenage hormones gone wild can create havoc in the heart and mind, which can be due to failure in academics, romance, or bullying by others. It reminds me of the iconic movie 3 Idiots, where a student kills himself due to his frustration at his project being pooh-poohed by the Principal of the College.
The student Rancho, played by actor Aamir Khan, complains about the mental stress the students undergo, leading to such avoidable tragedies. As the Principal gets defensive and refuses to take the blame, Aamir Khan replies, “I am rather blaming the entire system, not you, Sir.” Aamir Khan speaks some hard truth in that movie. Students carry a lot of burden and expectations from their demanding parents and a cutthroat competitive society. The simple equation Ambition – Achievement = Frustration holds true. Often, they snap, as the lid of the pressure cooker comes off, burning the face.
The greatest tragedy is the silence of the silent majority, which is conspicuously deafening, and who mostly turn a blind eye to competition and peer pressure, which are to blame. Can’t resist repeating my often-mentioned joke. A person once went to an astrologer, who, after seeing his chart, said, “You will go bankrupt after two years.” “What will happen after that?” asked the person, who was now somewhat concerned.
The astrologer responded, “You will get used to it.” So the silent majority has got used to the chaotic system with a CHALTA HAI (let the status quo prevail) attitude. Don’t be surprised if you hear news of more such suicides more frequently. The focus has unfortunately shifted to casteism instead of addressing the root cause, until the next suicide happens—not a matter of if, but when.
(The writer is a technocrat and lives in Columbus. Views are personal.)