THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The suicide by a Class IX student in a school in Pampady, Kottayam points yet again to the lack of supportive approach and atmosphere of understanding for adolescents’ in schools. The state has witnessed a spurt in incidents of adolescents taking the extreme step and running away from homes unable to bear even momentary setback and failures. Five months ago a 15 year old girl student jumped to death in a Kollam school over alleged harrassement at the hands of teachers. Experts say these tragic incidents call for putting in place a comprehensive School Mental Health Programme to help children cope with failures, downfalls and adverse circumstances.
“Whenever there is failure in exams or in any other field, some children tend to go into depression or feel low. There is a fear of getting isolated in peer group, among friends and at home. Many feel it is the end of the world. I think teachers and parents need to play a key role in preparing students to face adversities in life and inculcate in them a sense that failure does not mean end of everything,” said Dr R Jayaprakash, additional professor paediatrics and child psychiatry SAT hospital
At the moment there are not enough support systems in place in the educational institutions to help adolescents to over come depression or impulsive behaviour. Doctors say parents are not spending enough time with their children and there seems to be no supportive approach in dealing with their problems. Instead many are still continuing with corporal punishment even for small failures.
Experts say an effective adolescent mental health programme was implemented successfully in Thiruvananthapuram district during the past ten years. It could be replicated in other districts and educational institutions as well. The new State Health Policy which is under government's consideration, has proposed a programme on similar lines. They say in the meantime schools could impart life skill training to students, training and enabling them to handle adverse circumstances. The extensive use of gadgets and social media which has compounded the problem, too requires to be tackled effectively in the long run.
