The basic spirit of education has become distorted. This is because the students are being pushed into the blind race to overtake each other. They are constantly being put on psychological pressure. As a result, the number of suicides of suicide is increasing. These things were said by the Supreme Court during the hearing of a case. Also, the apex court directed all educational institutions including coaching centers to ensure mental health protection of students.
The court also gave several important instructions to the institutions. These include appointment of qualified consultants or psychologists, avoiding division in batch based on educational performance, and certified mental health experts impart compulsory training to employees twice a year.
Arrangement made to save students’ lives
A bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta regretted that the education system has turned into a high-day race with narrow goals such as achievement, prestige and financial security. He said that a system should be made to save the lives of students taking extreme steps due to various reasons. The continuous loss of youth due to neglected psychological crisis, educational burden and institutional insensitivity reflects a systemic failure. It cannot be ignored.
Justice Mehta, who wrote a decision for the bench, stated that replacing learning happiness has been taken by concern about ranking, results and persistent performance standards. Students, especially students preparing for competitive examinations, are often caught in a trap where tolerance is given priority rather than conformity, consequences rather than understanding, instead of understanding and happiness. He emphasized that suicide prevention requires a multi-regional approach to pay special attention to the youth.
The purpose of education is not burden
The court said that the purpose of education is to free the student, not putting the burden on it. Its real success is not in grade or rankings, but in the overall development of a person who is able to live life with respect, confidence and purpose. The court passed this order on a petition filed by the parents of a medical student who committed suicide. Also, in view of the flaws in the investigation conducted by the Andhra Pradesh Police, a CBI inquiry into the case was ordered.
2248 deaths due to failure in exam
The court directed the states and union territories to notify registration for all private coaching centers within two months, students’ safety criteria and grievance redressal system rules. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, in the year 2022, 1,70,924 suicides were registered in India. Of these, 7.6%, about 13,044, were cases of suicide by students.
Significantly, 2,248 of these deaths were directly due to failure in the examination. According to NCRB data, the number of suicides by students in the last two decades has increased from 5,425 in 2001 to 13,044 in 2022.
