Urgent need for a solution

The increasing suicides among the students of corporate colleges are not only disturbing but also alarming. It is shocking to note that these suicides are not making us sit up and take note of the tragedy or even push us into action.

No attempt is made to fix any responsibility for reducing the student to a crime number in police files. The parents and the managements of the corporate colleges should have come together by now to form committees to study all aspects of this issue.

The government too should have stepped in to work towards a destressing solution. The poultry farm style infrastructure offered by these insane managements is tantamount to cruelty. The managements do not train their teachers to handle crisis situations or on how to keep an eye on the students’ psyche.

The money minting system does not recognise the difference between an anxious student, a depressed and dependent student to realise whether the student is in poor contact with reality. No attempt is made to make the students comfortable upon their arrival in the first place.

No one seeks to know the backgrounds of the students and whether they are there only to fulfill their parents’ dreams. No one asks them about their eating or sleeping disorders or whether they would be comfortable in crowded rooms. Once the fee is paid and the students are pushed into the hostels, their probationary time begins.

If some of the students feel they are doing their time in a prison, they cannot be called wrong. At least a prison has a correctional service, here there is none. The teachers may not be expected of providing counselling, but it would be helpful for one to understand the critical role one could play in responding to the student problems being familiar with the signs that indicate that a student is in need of help.

There could be financial worries too. Leaving home and being on their own for the first time makes the students come under stress. All this apart, there is this process of physical development and the accompanied anxieties for the young ones who are in the process of developing careers, relationships, life goals and their own individual identities.

Situational and developmental problems frequently interfere with academic performance. Studies have revealed that at least 10 per cent of the students may be distressed by depression and facing acute anxiety. It is only the teacher who is in an excellent position to spot the emotionally troubled student and any inconsistency in his or her behaviour should alert the teacher to the silent cry for help.

Having no regulation over the institutions that are custodians of millions of our youngsters emotionally and physically is no good. Governments must step in and force the managements to act and seek course corrections. Their accountability must be fixed.

Even if the managements deny it, it should be made clear to them that they are service providers and any deficiency in service shall not be tolerated. Let us keep politics out of this and work together to guide the youth towards a safe and secure future.