India - student suicide by one aspiring to write a major exam

[jamahir]

NEET aspirant dies by suicide ahead of exam in Tamil Nadu's Salem

Onmanorama Staff
Published: September 12, 2021 04:00 PM IST Updated: September 12, 2021 08:57 PM IST

Dhanush

Salem: A NEET candidate committed suicide ahead of the entrance exam in Tamil Nadu's Salem.

A native of Mettur in Salem, Dhanush (18), was found hanging at his house on Sunday morning.

Dhanush had attempted NEET twice unsuccessfully.

His family said that the boy was under intense pressure and that he was worried about succeeding in the exam.

A Mettur range police officer told PTI that the boy was found hanging in his house by his mother at about 3.45 AM and the family informed them.

Asked if any suicide note was found, the police officer declined to specify. He said that the boy was to appear for the national test for the third time after having failed to clear the test in two previous attempts.

The body of the boy, Dhanush who belonged to Koozhaiyur village near Mettur, was handed over to the family after post-mortem at a hospital.

A large number of people gathered near his house and his death by suicide led to tense moments in the village, police said.

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) Undergraduate, 2021, was held on Sunday, September 12.

The death led to a blame game with the AIADMK holding the DMK regime responsible and the state government targeting the Centre.

Expressing shock and grief, Chief Minister M K Stalin said that the aspirant, Dhanush, died by suicide as he was dejected that he could not clear the exam despite appearing twice earlier and due to the adverse effects caused by NEET to poor students of urban and rural regions.

While the main opposition AIADMK squarely blamed the DMK regime for his death, Stalin targeted the Centre for being "obstinate" on the matter and assured passing a Bill in the Assembly on September 13 to "permanently exempt" Tamil Nadu from the ambit of NEET.

The Centre does not understand the huge difficulties caused by NEET to students and its 'negligence' and 'obstinacy' continues to be responsible for the death of students by suicide, the Chief Minister alleged.

Condoling the aspirant's death, Stalin said "our legal struggle against NEET starts now after taking over the reins of the government." The state government has the responsibility and duty to build a good future for students and realising this, "our struggle will continue till the Union government rescinds NEET," he said.

The Chief Minister said his government would drum up support of all other states on this issue by reaching out to all Chief Ministers, adding, "I have the confidence that we will win."

Also, "irregularity in conduct of NEET, leak of question paper, several instances of fraud, including impersonation and students' suicides" has not prompted the Centre to have a change of heart, further reinforcing the necessity of having education in the state list of the Constitution, Stalin said.

He appealed to the student community not to lose heart and not take any extreme step.

Leader of the Opposition K Palaniswami said the DMK had, in the run up to the April 6 Assembly polls, claimed that the party was aware of the ways and means to "cancel NEET." The former Chief Minister said the DMK targeted the AIADMK government over this issue, "diverted the people and also won the polls."

The DMK made 'tall claims' of exempting Tamil Nadu from NEET, mocked at AIADMK over this matter and campaigned in a way that deceived the student community over NEET and the end result was the death of one more student by suicide, Palaniswami, who is the AIADMK co-coordinator, a top party position, said in a statement.

Dhanush, who took the extreme step, believed the "claims of political leaders" and was not "fully prepared," the AIADMK leader claimed, adding that the boy did so fearing that his dream of becoming a doctor would be shattered if he failed to clear the test, the third time too.

Requesting aspirants not to take extreme steps over any issue, Palaniswami said the boy's life could have been saved had the government clarified on time whether the exam would be held or not in Tamil Nadu and if it had arranged proper coaching for aspirants.

The AIADMK leader said he had time and again asked the government to clarify whether NEET would be conducted or not in Tamil Nadu since the DMK had made such an assurance.

Unlike the DMK, his party is not interested in politicising the NEET issue, the AIADMK leader said. "Please tell the students about the true status of NEET," he said and demanded a solatium of Rs one crore for the aspirant's family.

Palaniswami also visited the bereaved family and paid homage by placing a wreath.

PMK founder leader S Ramadoss said NEET went against social justice and must be rescinded immediately. "At the same time, suicide is not the solution for this problem," he tweeted and urged students not to take the extreme step since there are several other educational programmes to serve the people.

Dhanush is the second son of Sivakumar, a farmer of Salem district.

Over the years, a number of aspirants from Tamil Nadu had died by suicide fearing the outcome of the national test and opposition to NEET grew manifold.

DMK youth wing secretary and MLA, Udhayanidhi Stalin met the family, consoled them and announced Rs 10 lakh assistance from the party.

School Education minister Ambil Mahesh Poyyamuzhi also paid homage.

Days ago, the Tamil Nadu government had in a policy note stated that an official committee suggested enactment of a fresh law to provide for admission to professional degrees like medicine on the basis of marks obtained in the qualifying exam and to get exemption from NEET.

Bills adopted in 2017 during the previous AIADMK regime to exempt Tamil Nadu from NEET did not get the President's assent.

(With PTI inputs.)

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Jamahir's Comment : What is this unnecessary competition in exams in societies like India about ? It's not like the students who score high marks in school and college exams and then go into professional life have in the last seven decades of modern India been able to establish India as a harmonious welfare-based society where people do not have socio-economic and political deprivations, have developed marvelous technological innovations and that India has had a Mars base for the last 20 years. So why these exams which put the students into such fear ? Why does the country not have a socio-economic system where people won't have to score high marks in exams so that they can get into high-paying "respectable" jobs just so that they can afford basic necessities like food, housing, electricity, clothing, healthcare, internet etc ? Why do the parents of many of these students not say to them that it's okay if they can go into the fields of their interest ? In case of the young fellow from the OP he wanted to become a doctor but his parents should have enabled an education system where it is free, available to all and is not decided by some unscientific exam. These exams should be abolished.

 

[SirHatesALot]

Tamil students take these exams too seriously i failed twice in maths and didn't give a $hit, my mother did though with a danda

 

[jamahir]

Tamil students take these exams too seriously

It is not only Tamil students. I am sure a lot of the students who commit suicide across India, including in the notorious coaching-centers-filled town of Kota, are not Tamil.

i failed twice in maths and didn't give a $hit, my mother did though with a danda

I too failed in maths in class 12 and then just dropped out because I wasn't learning anything good really. And then I entered the computing field, also became a teacher, then co-founded a computing company and and am quite good in fundamental binary computing. And also am good at understanding the political, social and economic systems in humanity and how they should really be.

If students don't like being pushed into the exam rat race by their parents, elders and the general social atmosphere they should just reject and rebel and then go on their own path. They should persevere and not lose heart and commit suicide. And during their time in college they should organize their student colleagues and talk about the unscientificness of India's so-called education system and how it should be bettered. They should do this instead of continuing to know about student suicides, maybe of their own immediate colleagues, and then keeping quiet. Reject and organize.

 

[SirHatesALot]

It is not only Tamil students

this is highly prevalent in south

 

[jamahir]

this is highly prevalent in south

Maybe you are right. Maybe they are not too entrepreneurial. Maybe they think if they can't become a doctor or an engineer or a MBA they can't do anything else.

Below is my thread from last year also about a South Indian student :

Indian woman student commits suicide because of no scholarship funds received

Trigger Warning: LSR Student Dies By Suicide Due To Financial Pressures As Per Note Soumyaseema Sun 8 November 2020, 12:02 PM IST Nowadays, it is not at all rare to see students stressed, anxious, or perplexed about their future. The ongoing pandemic has added to those concerns in every...

defence.pk

 

[VkdIndian]

Tamil students take these exams too seriously i failed twice in maths and didn't give a $hit, my mother did though with a danda

This disease is equally prevalent in other parts of the country. A sad state of affairs. Feel sad for children as well as parents who are so cocooned that they think, these exams as start and end of the world.

 

[jamahir]

IISc research student found dead at hostel

The officer added that the student was 'allegedly suffering from a mental illness (disorder)' and he was under medication to overcome the problem

Akhil Kadidal, HM Chaithanya Swamy, DHNS, Bengaluru,

• SEP 14 2021, 03:49 IST
• UPDATED: SEP 14 2021, 05:08 IST

A PhD student at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), who students said was battling depression for some time, died on Sunday due to a suspected overdose of his medicines.

Rajarshi Bhattacharya, from IISc’s Department of Organic Chemistry and a native of Kolkata in West Bengal, was found dead at his hostel room. He was a third-year PhD student.

As per preliminary investigations, police determined that Rajarshi, who sources said was in his 20s, was found dead by his hostel mates. They alerted the security officer on duty and then informed the police.

“When we reached the spot, Rajarshi Bhattacharya was already dead. We didn’t find a death note in his room,” said an investigating officer from the Sadashivanagar police station.

The officer added that Rajarshi was “allegedly suffering from a mental illness (disorder) and he was under medication to overcome the problem. We suspect he overdosed on the medicines.

“But whether he killed himself or suffered an accidental overdose is yet to be verified. Prima facie, it looks like a case of killing himself,” the officer said.
Police have handed over the body to his family following a post-mortem.

“His viscera sample has been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) and we are awaiting the post-mortem report,” another officer said.

A case of unnatural death has been registered.
Sources said this is at least the fourth student death at the prestigious institute this year.

4th student death this year

In a bid to help students tackle mental and psychological challenges, IISc had started a student counselling service and a peer support group made up of student volunteers.

Students, however, said that IISc’s wellness centre needs to be proactive. “The wellness centre is not at all proactive and it is largely a faceless and voiceless organisation. The mantra of the centre is that if students have a problem the onus is on them to approach the centre, even though we are not living in normal times,” a student said.

‘Isolated place’

They added that the campus, in the absence of a large part of the student body due to the pandemic, has become an isolating space.

“Many students feel there is no support network on campus,” a student said, noting that students had even organised a group discussion on September 10 on the occasion of “Suicide Prevention Awareness Day”.

Another student noted that the administration’s imposition of stringent Covid-19 regulations had turned the campus “practically into a jail”. “That’s why we had petitioned the administration to relax
some of the restrictions.”

---

Jamahir's comment : They say the main suiciding student of the topic had mental illness. "Mental illness" ???? Mostly probably he was taking those chemicals ( "medicines" ) to keep continuing his "studies" in this prestigious Indian university. Change the bloody education and employment system to become really educating, useful, scientific and harmonious ! Did these four students really had to commit suicide ? And about that "wellness center" in IISc... Just doing yoga will not remove the surrounding real problems in the Indian socio-economic and education system.

 

[jamahir]

NEET aspirant found dead in Ariyalur

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
ARIYALUR, SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 10:17 IST
UPDATED: SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 12:37 IST

Minister for Backward Classes S.S. Sivasankar consoling the family members of K. Kanimozhi, an MBBS aspirant, who ended her life, at Sathampadi in Ariyalur district on Tuesday | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

An 18-year-old girl, from Santhampadi village near Jayankondam, who had written the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET) on September 12 was found dead in her house on the morning of September 14, police said.

K. Kanimozhi, the deceased, was found dead in her house at Thuvarankurichi. No suicide note has been recovered.

According to her parents, the girl was unhappy since the NEET examination. She had told her parents that she had found the questions tough. Her parents said she had taken the extreme step fearing failure in the exam.

In 2017, S. Anitha of Kuzhumur village in Ariyalur, who had impleaded herself in a Supreme Court case challenging NEET, had ended her life.

---

Jamahir's comment : One more student suicide. This is getting ridiculous. These unscientific and stupid competitive exams should be abolished !

 

[not_two]

IISc research student found dead at hostel

The officer added that the student was 'allegedly suffering from a mental illness (disorder)' and he was under medication to overcome the problem

Akhil Kadidal, HM Chaithanya Swamy, DHNS, Bengaluru,

• SEP 14 2021, 03:49 IST
• UPDATED: SEP 14 2021, 05:08 IST

A PhD student at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), who students said was battling depression for some time, died on Sunday due to a suspected overdose of his medicines.

Rajarshi Bhattacharya, from IISc’s Department of Organic Chemistry and a native of Kolkata in West Bengal, was found dead at his hostel room. He was a third-year PhD student.

As per preliminary investigations, police determined that Rajarshi, who sources said was in his 20s, was found dead by his hostel mates. They alerted the security officer on duty and then informed the police.

“When we reached the spot, Rajarshi Bhattacharya was already dead. We didn’t find a death note in his room,” said an investigating officer from the Sadashivanagar police station.

The officer added that Rajarshi was “allegedly suffering from a mental illness (disorder) and he was under medication to overcome the problem. We suspect he overdosed on the medicines.

“But whether he killed himself or suffered an accidental overdose is yet to be verified. Prima facie, it looks like a case of killing himself,” the officer said.
Police have handed over the body to his family following a post-mortem.

“His viscera sample has been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) and we are awaiting the post-mortem report,” another officer said.

A case of unnatural death has been registered.
Sources said this is at least the fourth student death at the prestigious institute this year.

4th student death this year

In a bid to help students tackle mental and psychological challenges, IISc had started a student counselling service and a peer support group made up of student volunteers.

Students, however, said that IISc’s wellness centre needs to be proactive. “The wellness centre is not at all proactive and it is largely a faceless and voiceless organisation. The mantra of the centre is that if students have a problem the onus is on them to approach the centre, even though we are not living in normal times,” a student said.

‘Isolated place’

They added that the campus, in the absence of a large part of the student body due to the pandemic, has become an isolating space.

“Many students feel there is no support network on campus,” a student said, noting that students had even organised a group discussion on September 10 on the occasion of “Suicide Prevention Awareness Day”.

Another student noted that the administration’s imposition of stringent Covid-19 regulations had turned the campus “practically into a jail”. “That’s why we had petitioned the administration to relax
some of the restrictions.”

---

Jamahir's comment : They say the main suiciding student of the topic had mental illness. "Mental illness" ???? Mostly probably he was taking those chemicals ( "medicines" ) to keep continuing his "studies" in this prestigious Indian university. Change the bloody education and employment system to become really educating, useful, scientific and harmonious ! Did these four students really had to commit suicide ? And about that "wellness center" in IISc... Just doing yoga will not remove the surrounding real problems in the Indian socio-economic and education system.

Very nice place .. It is sanctuary for learning minds .. Every facility is inside the campus ..Stipend for students is very good .. Single minded dedication on studies often make students incompatible to the external society resulting in increased depression ..Many students there are like those typical scientists lost in their own world..

 

[INS_Vikrant]

including in the notorious coaching-centers-filled town of Kota, are not Tamil.

You clearly haven't been to kota

 

[ApparentRaceTraitor]

Bloody hell...the whole education system needs an upgrade, along with the fetish Indian parents have with their children studying engineering, medicine and the law.

If this thinking was dangerously outdated back in the early 2000's, it's criminally obsolete now.

 

[not_two]

Bloody hell...the whole education system needs an upgrade, along with the fetish Indian parents have with their children studying engineering, medicine and the law.

If this thinking was dangerously outdated back in the early 2000's, it's criminally obsolete now.

No pressure no daimonds ...

 

[sathish]

These exams aren't fair, my cousin going for J2EE coaching paying 5 lakh tuition fee per year, but now he is only in his 9th class, he started preparation 4 years earlier. He is gonna pay a total of 20 lakhs as fee, in the next 3 years.

How many parents can afford such exorbitant cost for coaching ? And how such competent exams can be considered as fair to every one, when everyone cannot afford same kind of coaching ? It's gonna kill dreams of many students from rural India.

 

[jamahir]

Single minded dedication on studies often make students incompatible to the external society resulting in increased depression

The external Indian society, including their parents, is what pressurizes these students to commit suicide.

1. Indian traditional culture, at least a large part of it, does not deem suicide to be sinful so this inherently makes suicide acceptable and ignorable.

2. These "studies" you mention in almost all cases is meant not for education but towards the goal of getting a high-paying job in an extremely Capitalist society where the socio-economic system does not provide the wage slavery person with free basic needs like food, housing, water, electricity, clothing, healthcare, education, internet etc. To avail of these the student has to enter a needless rat race with his student colleagues to score the highest possible marks and then enter his profession which many a time is decided by the parents or even the "education" system which I believe is called "counselling" ( ) which is determined per student based on his or her marks in the previous big exam.

3. The parents are equally complicit in any student suicide because they neither would want to financially support any student who rejects the exam system nor would they want to leave the opportunity to brag about their high-marks-scoring or high-job-placement-having child in front of their neighbors or relatives. This non-economic-support and penchant for bragging makes the parents to nag and pressurize their children to death. So much for the great Indian family system.

Many students there are like those typical scientists lost in their own world..

I don't believe Michael Faraday ever had to come through the stupid pressure that Indian students face.

No pressure no daimonds ...

That is quite a silly statement. So tell me, what technological contribution have these Indian diamonds made to the world in the last 74 years of India ? And socio-economically, is India a welfare-based society where no one suffers deprivations because those Indian diamonds in the economics studies stream have made it so ? Is the Indian political system a marvel to show to the world ? Has India has had a base on Mars for the last 20 years ?

These exams aren't fair, my cousin going for J2EE coaching paying 5 lakh tuition fee per year, but now he is only in his 9th class, he started preparation 4 years earlier. He is gonna pay a total of 20 lakhs as fee, in the next 3 years.

Imagine how much more easier life would have been for your cousin and his parents if education in India would have been free at all levels and of one's choice so that people wouldn't feel the need to take up some course just because it is currently fashionably high-paying even if the student wants to do something else or the course really is mostly useless in truth.

 

[Black Tornado]

These exams aren't fair, my cousin going for J2EE coaching paying 5 lakh tuition fee per year, but now he is only in his 9th class, he started preparation 4 years earlier. He is gonna pay a total of 20 lakhs as fee, in the next 3 years.

How many parents can afford such exorbitant cost for coaching ? And how such competent exams can be considered as fair to every one, when everyone cannot afford same kind of coaching ? It's gonna kill dreams of many students from rural India.

It only means he’s not competent enough else FIITJEE (one of the best coaching institutes) Took 2 lakhs for 4 years from me coz I grabbed a 100% scholarship in tuition fee.

Else what kind of education system you want? NEP is perfectly fine teaching better stuff and creating opportunities. Here we are job seekers instead of job creators, here business is still considered low class stuff if it gets more money than a 9-5 job.

Startups are something that is difficult, so people go to USA, IT Boom helped us but won’t forever.