DNA Edit: Saving our students - Don’t just laud toppers, focus on those who failed

India’s students are staring at a precipice. According to data shared by the government from 2014-16, over 26,000 students killed themselves, with over 9,000 student suicides in 2016 alone. This averages to one suicide an hour in this country. Experts say that while there are many reasons due to which a student would commit suicide, the most common one is ‘failure’ in Class X and Class XII Board exams. Clearly, the nation is staring at a crisis and what’s worse is that not only have we not helped our students, we have made the problem worse by our fixation with toppers.

The frenzy that has surrounded this year’s topper, Meghna Srivastava, who scored 499 out of 500, is unhealthy to say the least. By over-lauding Meghna, we are sending a message to her and all other students that they are only worth something if they get close to 100 per cent, a message they carry even if they get into other institutes of excellence in this country, such as IITs. While there are no official figures, it is no secret that IITians are killing themselves at an alarming rate and little is being done to help them.

Media headlines come up every time an IITian kills himself or herself, but as soon as the focus shifts to other topics, other students are left alone to cope. And so the problem continues. Meghna’s achievements and the resulting frenzy should be a wakeup call to us all. While we must praise her, we must also remember that there are many students in this country who did not get 499 out of 500. In fact, those who failed or just passed need national attention more than she does. It may not make for great headlines, but it is necessary. Our children are dying and we have to save them.