post results, parental pressure adds to woes

Patna: A 22-year-old polytechnic student, Rukmini Mishra jumped off the four-storey building where she lived at Indrapuri in February this year. She was depressed with the marks she had scored in her third semester exam. Another Patna boy, Ashish Kumar (name changed) ran away from his home before his CBSE Class XII results were declared, fearing poor performance.
Such news of depression, suicide or students running away from home are often reported all over the country before or after the results are declared. In fact, just after CBSE Class XII results were declared last Saturday, Rohan from Gurgaon consumed poisonous substance at his home that afternoon. Another Class XII student, Shaktiganesh from Periyanaicken Palayam in Coimbatore, hanged self just hours before his result, though he scored 71% marks.
Prabha Shukla, former head of Psychology department at Patna University (PU) says, "Students are already under stress due to examination. Parents, too, start talking about 90% plus and IIT. At this point, these children are under immense pressure to fulfil their parents' wishes. Some of them are unable to handle the situation and commit suicide or run away from home."
Prabha Shukla strictly advices parents to spend time with their children, especially while they are taking their examination and on the day of result.
"Parents should take their wards to the examination centre. On the day of result, they should be with their children. In case the result is not up to the expectation, they should cite examples of those people who excelled in life in spite of failing in the examination, instead of cribbing or scolding their children," says Shukla.
Shamshad Hussain, professor emeritus, Patna University psychology department, tells the parents to follow the middle path while handling their children.
"Every child has a capacity to grow. So, let him grow. Parents should neither be too strict, nor too lenient. First of all, parents need to understand the capacity of their children, before imposing too much burden or expecting something out of the world. The problem is that parents fail to understand the aptitude level, intelligence or personality of their child. The problem lies with the parents," he says.
Advising for social counselling, Hussain says, "Such centres should be made affective. Apart from that, moral education should be made must and children should also be told about their culture. Just modern thoughts won't help." He further advises, "Cases of suicide or children running away from home should not be discussed in front of children."