Last month, a young person decided to end his life. And days before this, another young man committed suicide. Both incidents were in Kota, Rajasthan, the “coaching capital” of India, and these young people took this desperate step as they were unable to cope with the stress of entrance examinations. Across India, every year, there are several suicides that are related to competitive examinations, the pressures of entrance examinations and the compulsions of social pressures, including those from family — often openly stated in suicide notes. Why are our young people perishing? We must pay attention to this alarming development, because if we do not, our young people will continue to perish. It is not as if this is a recent trend. I fear we will become immune and insensitive to this great tragedy among our young people if we do not act immediately. But why are our young people taking such a drastic step to end their lives?
Where there is no vision, the people perish.
While some negative forces such as family pressure can only be mitigated by a better sense of priorities and awareness, there are definitely some other elements which can be controlled by the examination boards and regulating authorities. If our vision so far has been clouded by other priorities, let us correct this by putting our young people first, rather than examinations or marks. Let us tell our young people that they are important and that our policies and practices will keep them first.
