Editorial: Death of a dream

The entire education ecosystem that puts a premium on success is to be blamed for the sorry state of affairs

The growing number of student suicides is a matter of collective shame for the country. The entire education ecosystem that puts a premium on success and shuts the doors on alternative career avenues is to be blamed for the sorry state of affairs. The recent death of an 18-year-old student in Kota, the hub for notorious coaching factories in Rajasthan, may just, in a matter of time, become part of cold statistics of student suicides in the country. In the name of preparing students for competitive exams, the coaching institutions subject them to a gruelling routine that many young people may not be able to cope with. Some crack under pressure. Kota is dotted with mushrooming coaching centres that cram students in pigeonhole-like classrooms from dawn to dusk, grooming them for India’s highly competitive exams for engineering and medical colleges. It is here that the dreams of many turn into nightmares. The number of student suicides in Kota has gone up to 21 so far this year. The successive governments have failed to take corrective steps to arrest the ominous trend and rein in the coaching factories. A shocking apathy marks the general reaction of society. No modern society should treat the deaths of young people as collateral damage. If one has to understand the gravity of the problem of student pressure in India, one needs to look at the numbers pertaining to the IIT-JEE, arguably one of the toughest entrance examinations in the world. Only 0.04% of the total candidates who take the test actually end up getting admission.

While the media highlights the success stories of only those who make it to these elite institutions, the struggles and miseries of thousands of aspirants remain untold and unaddressed. Unless the basket of opportunities is expanded by establishing more such institutions, the problems of anxiety and pressure will continue to ruin the mental health of young students. This disturbing phenomenon is not just confined to engineering and medical education alone. The success rate for the union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exam — meant for recruitment to civil services and other central government posts — hovers around 0.5%. The shortage of quality higher education seats means parents continue to feel pressured to put their children into the coaching grindmill, even when they can see the toll this takes on the school years. A mismatch between rising aspirations and shrinking opportunities has created enormous stress — a pressure cooker kind of situation — for the youth. This must be treated as a public health crisis requiring urgent attention. Parents too must candidly discuss the career choices and aptitudes of their children and not push them into difficult corners. The government needs to enact a robust oversight mechanism and invest in creating some support structures to lessen anxiety among students.

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