Regular conversations about mental health, academic pressures, and career aspirations can provide students with a support system

Nineteen-year-old Arnav Khaire’s photograph shows a handsome young boy with an amazingly innocent look in his dark eyes. A science student, he did what most young students in Mumbai do every day of their lives. Travel long distances in overcrowded locals to get to college and then journey back home every evening or sometimes late at night.

While travelling to college on November 18, Arnav reportedly requested a man in his compartment to give him a little space. He spoke in Hindi. Immediately, a group of men turned to him, and one of them slapped him hard, demanding to know why he had not spoken in Marathi, and then a group of men proceeded to rain blows on him. The beating left him so traumatised that he returned home in the afternoon and proceeded to bolt the door of his room, where he hanged himself. Parochial politics has an ugly way of intruding into our lives, as it did in the lives of the Khaire family, where a violent assault left Arnav so shaken that he decided to end his life.

Or take the case of another 16-year-old class ten student, Shourya Patil, who studied at one of Delhi’s most acclaimed institutions, St Columba’s School, and who died by suicide on November 17 by jumping from the Rajendra Place Metro station to the street below. In a suicide note left in his bag, he blamed four teachers for their “sustained humiliation” and mental harassment.

What is shocking is that none of his teachers or the four counsellors in the school had any inkling of the stress and insecurity he was undergoing. In fact, some of his friends had subsequently told his parents that he had confided to one of the councillors about his suicidal thoughts, but the councillor had chosen to make light of his confession.

Another sixteen-year-old girl student studying in Class 11 in Rewa in Madhya Pradesh also left a suicide note in which she informed her parents that she was taking her own life because of the physical and mental torture that she was being subjected to by her class teacher. But the most shocking case this month has been the suicide of a nine-year-old girl who studied in Class 4 in one of Rajasthan’s largest private schools, the Neerja Modi School in Jaipur, who jumped from the fourth floor of the school building on Nov 1.

The child had complained to her class teacher several times about her classmates using “bad words” and bullying her, but the teacher chose to rebuke her and told her to “adjust to other kids”. In fact, she even confided in her mother and pleaded with her to change her school, complaining of her classmates constantly harassing and bullying her. At no time did her parents make any attempt to understand her viewpoint, nor did the school provide her with any counselling support.

On November 1, the child was seen on CCTV cameras arriving at school in a cheerful mood. Around 11 am, she was disturbed by something written on a digital slate by a group of boys, and she told the boys repeatedly to stop troubling her. She then approached her teacher five times in a span of 45 minutes, seeking help. Her request for help was met with repeated scoldings. The upset child made her way to the fourth floor of the school, from where she jumped to her death.

These are but a few examples to highlight how we are facing a student mental health crisis of unprecedented proportions. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 2023 report revealed that 13,892 students died by suicide last year, the highest in a decade.

These deaths account for 8.1 per cent of all suicides nationwide, a sharp rise compared to 12,526 in 2020 and 10,159 in 2018. Over the past decade, student suicides have surged by nearly 65 per cent, growing faster than overall suicides in the country, with Maharashtra heading the list of student suicides. Experts say that behind these numbers lie not just academic challenges but also emotional isolation, lack of awareness about counselling, and uncertain career prospects, emphasising the urgent need for a multipronged approach to prevent such tragedies and support student well-being.

A recent UNICEF report confirms the worst fears of these experts. It reveals that one in seven young people aged 15–24 in India suffers from poor mental health, including symptoms of depression. Very few of these individuals seek help when dealing with mental health challenges, highlighting the stigma surrounding mental health support.

Dr Rajesh Sagar, professor of psychiatry at AIIMS, believes screen addiction, cyberbullying and relentless academic pressure are taking a heavy toll on children, warning that more than 50 per cent of mental health problems seen in adults begin before the age of 14. “Kids are overstimulated, overwhelmed and under supported,” said Dr Sagar, pointing out that from the 80-90 per cent who need treatment, only a small fraction receive help.

Dr Rajesh Kumar, who heads the Society for Promotion of Youth and Masses, which has been running a counselling and de-addiction centre in Delhi and Uttarakhand, believes, “The disintegration of the nuclear family is creating its own set of challenges for children, with many growing up in a vacuum where the virtual world and virtual friends have come to dominate their lives. This is a very dangerous trend.”

Psychologist Dr Pulkit Sharma also reiterates how “social support systems have broken down. Worse, parents have little time, and children are not being taught survival skills. Many of them grow without being able to cope with situations. Counselling has to be integrated into daily school life to help students navigate stress more effectively.”

“Policy interventions must include teacher training, peer support programmes, and clear guidance on seeking help to reduce student suicides,” says another child psychologist. Parents play a pivotal role in preventing student suicides. Regular conversations about mental health, academic pressures, and career aspirations can provide students with a support system. Teachers must also be trained to recognise early warning signs in order to foster a more supportive classroom environment. It is also time to return to a more value-driven education. Those moral science classes of yore do seem to have some significance.