By Jairaj Chhetry
In classrooms across India, students are silently battling a crisis that rarely makes headlines. Education, once a path to enlightenment, is now a pressure cooker of expectations. The pursuit of ranks and perfection has replaced the joy of learning, and the consequences are devastating.
As a teacher in one of the schools of Tura, I witness this daily. A Class IX student recently scored 25 out of 30 in English Grammar—an objectively strong result. Yet she was devastated. Her parents, focused on rankings, dismissed her effort. Another parent demanded a new maths teacher—not to help the child understand better, but to chase a higher position.
Her disappointment wasn’t about the marks—it was about not meeting expectations.
This obsession with grades and ranks is not just misguided—it’s dangerous.
What Schools Aren’t Teaching
Despite the evolving syllabi and digital tools, our classrooms lack the most essential lessons:
Emotional resilience and mental health awareness
Financial literacy and life planning
Conflict resolution and communication skills
Self-worth and identity development
We teach children how to solve equations, but not how to solve emotional crises.
Teachers are overburdened. Counsellors are scarce. And students are left to navigate a maze of pressure, often alone.
The Suicide Crisis: A Global and Local Tragedy
India’s Alarming Reality
According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB):
13,044 student suicides were reported in 2022—that’s over 35 deaths every day.
From 2013 to 2022, student suicides rose by 64%, totalling 1,03,961 lives lost.
In Kota, Rajasthan, 29 student suicides were recorded in 2023 alone.
“These are not numbers. These are children who believed they had no way out.”
Global Echoes
South Korea leads OECD nations in youth suicide rates due to academic pressure. In Japan, suicides spike at the start of the school year—linked to “School Refusal Syndrome”. In Canada and the UK, exam seasons correlate with spikes in self-harm and hospitalizations.
The Global School-based Student Health Survey found academic stress and bullying as major triggers in over 90 countries.
Psychiatric Insights: What the Experts Say
Psychiatrists worldwide are sounding the alarm. A study in SAR Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience states:“If not properly managed, academic stress can result in anxiety, depression, burnout, and suicidal ideation.” Another study from BMC Psychiatry found that 73% of first-year university students reported high stress levels, with strong correlations to depression and anxiety.
“Academic stress is no longer just a performance issue—it’s a public health concern.”
Meghalaya: A Regional Wake-Up Call
Even in Meghalaya’s serene hills, the crisis is real:
In 2021, 226 suicides were recorded, with nearly half involving individuals with middle school education or less.
A 2022 study in Shillong found: 15.9% of college students had suicidal thoughts ,5.8% had attempted suicide
Recent news reports have further exposed the emotional toll:
A 17-year-old girl from Jail Road Girls School in Shillong died by suicide in her classroom. She had excelled academically but was battling emotional distress due to family turmoil.
A USTM student was found dead in his hostel room, reportedly overwhelmed by academic pressure.
A 24-year-old engineering student from Shillong Polytechnic was discovered hanging in her hostel, prompting shock and grief across the campus.
“Behind every rank sheet is a child who may be silently suffering.”
A System Obsessed With Rankings
Success today is narrowly defined. A child who scores well but doesn’t top the class is often made to feel inadequate. We’ve replaced learning with comparison, and growth with competition. “We are raising students to chase ranks, not to chase meaning.” The Way Forward: Reforming the Classroom
To restore joy and purpose in education, we must act boldly:
Integrate mental health education into every school curriculum
Teach life skills like budgeting, emotional regulation, and career planning
Train parents and teachers to support growth over perfection
Ensure access to counsellors, especially in rural and underserved areas
“Education should teach children how to live—not just how to earn.”
Final Verdict: Reform or Regret?
If we continue down this path, we risk creating generations who succeed on paper but suffer in silence. As someone who teaches in Tura, I see the light in students fade—not from failure, but from the weight of expectations they were never taught to carry.
“Education must liberate, not oppress.”
We must build a system that nurtures thinkers, dreamers, and emotionally resilient individuals. The cost of ignoring this? Lives lost, voices silenced, futures compromised.
References:
1. USTM student dies by suicide – The Shillong Times
2. 17-Year-Old’s Suicide at Jail Road Girls School – South Asia Views
3. Shillong Polytechnic student suicide – Northeast Live
4. Engineering student found dead in Shillong hostel – India Today NE
5. India’s silent epidemic: What’s killing our students? – India Today
6. Global School-based Student Health Survey – WHO
7. SAR Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, BMC Psychiatry
8. Student suicide inquiry – The Hindu
9. Faridabad student suicide – The Tribune, Times of India
10. Economic Times: Kota’s rising suicide cases
11. DW: Exam pressure fuels spike in student suicides