Chennai’s young lose life battle to pressure

At least 23 students between the ages of 16 and 21 years have committed suicide in Chennai since January 1, 2012 for reasons ranging from academic pressure to depression (read failed love affairs).

“Every week, we come across a student suicide,” said a senior police official. “All were students of class 12 or professional colleges,” said the official.

Of the 23 suicides, 14 were due to academic stress and parental pressure. “If the trend continues, the number of suicides would cross the figures of 2011,” he said. The year 2011 saw 84 students committing suicide in Chennai alone, according to police.

With 525 engineering colleges and many universities in Tamil Nadu, students from across India make a beeline to the state. “Many of these institutions lack basic facilities and good teachers. This is the main cause behind academic pressure,” Prof A Puratchikody, Anna University of Technology, Tiruchi, told DNA.

Most of those who took the extreme measure were professional college students. “Parents should never force children to go for a course which they do not like,” said Prof Mridula B Nair, head of the department of psychology at Mahatma Gandhi College, Trivandrum.

Six of those who committed suicide were from rural areas. “This is a major factor. They find it difficult to understand what is being taught since the faculty too is not good in effective communication,” said Puratchikody.

These observations were substantiated by students themselves. “If we ask any doubts, the teachers make fun of us about how we speak and dress. Since we are not exposed to city life, we have to be given time to get adjusted with the new environment,” said Dinesh, an engineering college student from rural Tamil Nadu.