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Latest News |
| 03rd
February 2010 / Times of India / Ahmedabad Edition |
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 Ways to check student suicides buried in govt files
Report Suggesting Ways To Make Education Stress-Free Is Gathering Dust
Ahmedabad: The spate of suicide by students, a phenomenon generally witnessed a month before the boards, started much earlier this year with at least five students having ended their lives since December. While this leaves parents and academicians worried, the examination reform committees report submitted in October last year with recommendations to make school education stress-free is gathering dust in the state governments files.
The report prepared by the committee, headed by retired chief secretary Sudhir Mankad, recommended making class X boards optional, introduce semester system in classes XI & XII and implement grading system instead of marks.The government had formed the committee in July 2009.R Govinda (vicechancellor of National University of Educational Planning and Administration), Priyavardhan Korat and R C Patel (both GSHSEB members) were the other members .
Academicians have called for immediate implementation of the report. Once the semester system is introduced, it will certainly reduce the pressure on students. While in year-based system, a student carries the burden of full academic year, in semester system the burden is divided, said Hasmukh Hingu, former chairman of Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board. He also suggests to introduce a grading system. We must bring an end to number game which puts pressure on students from school, parents and society at large, he said. The committees report also suggests setting up counselling centres to help students fight depression .However, Fr Ferdinand Durai,principal of St Xaviers, attached more importance to counselling parents.
Instead of students,parents should be given counselling first,since its their ambitions that drive student to dispair. Even at primary school level, Ive encountered many parents who come seeking re-evaluation of their childrens papers, even for one mark, he said
Gujarat Schools Managements Association has called for revocation of SSC exam. Instead of GSHSEB holding the exams, schools should be allowed to conduct SSC exams. The government must act quickly in implementing recommendations of the committee report, said Bhaskar Patel, the associations general secretary. No official from GSHSEB was available for comments.
Students discus suicide as option:
A student of a prominent English-medium school in Navrangpura approached psychiatrist Hansal Bhachech recently. The young boys academic record was somewhat poor and of late he had been showing suicidal tendencies. What he told the psychiatrist simply left the latter stunned. When I asked him where he got the idea of suicide from, he said many of his friends in the school discuss suicide as an option. One of his friends actually suggested the boy to jump off the roof of his highrise apartment if he got poor marks, said Bhachech, adding, There is another disturbing psychological trend among students showing suicidal tendencies. They are turning copycats, if one commits suicide, others are inspired to follow suit. This only highlights the lack of guidance from parents and teachers. Parental pressure has mounted phenomenally, especially on students coming from middle- and upper middle class backgrounds. The parents set the agenda for their children and then push them to the edge, said another city-based psychiatrist.
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