Tata centre's bid to check rising cases of teen suicides

JAMSHEDPUR: The Tata Management Development Centre (TMDC) has joined hands with Freedom Foundation, an NGO working in the field of reorienting people's mindset towards life, to ensure that students remain focussed, positive and channelize their energies in the right direction.
With an aim to develop traits like the ability to cope with trying situations in students, the two outfits have identified 10 points that will be worked upon closely with the respective schools in the coming days.
"Improving students' performance with grace and ease; improving their relationship with parents, school faculty and peers; ensuring that students don't fall prey to addiction of any sort and making them responsible citizens are some of the areas that we will be working on," said prof Santosh Sharma of Freedom Foundation.
The debut session, organized last weekend at Tata Auditorium, saw an enthusiastic participation of 160 students from 10 leading English schools of the town.
"The programme was a huge success. Students from Loyola, Sacred Heart Convent, Little Flower School, Jamshedpur Public School, DBMS English School, Carmel Junior College and DAV Bistupur, among others participated in it," said prof Sharma, faculty of IIM-Ranchi.
A senior faculty of a missionary school, who was present at the session, said the initiative to promote quality traits in the students of the teenage group assumes significance amid the growing number of teen suicideszx in the city.
"Individual human traits like limited self-understanding, fear, ego and attachment will be effectively dwelt with by experts in the coming sessions with students," said the faculty of a missionary school.
In the coming months, organizers will conduct workshops, seminars and inter-personnel events to cultivate the traits of leaning to live, grow, lead, create and act.
"We will work on measures to bring down the number of suicides, which has shaken the city," said prof Sharma. Teen suicides account for nearly 20% of the total number of suicides in Jamshedpur every year."