Student's Suicide Exposes Chaitanya Stress

This tragic incident once again highlighted the burden placed on students by corporate colleges like Sri Chaitanya.

Pooja had been studying in the institution since Class 4. Though she had already written her Inter examinations, she chose to appear for improvement exams scheduled from Wednesday. “She told us she would complete the exams and come back home,” grieving parents said, recalling what became their final conversation with their daughter. However, they were not in a state to share any details of her life.

Originally from Kodada in Suryapet district, the family belongs to an agricultural background and had pinned hopes on their daughter’s education. Police said no suicide note was found. Based on a complaint lodged by her father, Madhapur police registered a case under Section 194 of the BNSS. The body was shifted to Osmania Hospital for post‑mortem examination and later handed over to the family by Wednesday morning. The final rites were wrapped up by afternoon.

Earlier in October 2024, the Telangana Women’s Commission issued summons to Sri Chaitanya Women’s College management in Madhapur in connection with problems being faced by students in the hostel. Taking a serious note of the students’ problems, then Commission chairperson Nerella Sharada conducted a surprise inspection at the college in Madhapur and interacted with students. She checked hostels and the mess on the college premises and found that the food and facilities were inadequate. She took a serious note of the management’s attitude in allowing more students to stay in a single room, with smell emanating from the washrooms. “How can the management allow so many students to stay in a single room?” she asked. Referring to the poor maintenance of rooms, she asked the staff, “Do you maintain your house in the same manner?” Sharada warned that stern action would be taken against the management if it compromised the health of the students.

Academicians blame higher levels of academic stress and mental health strain created by corporate colleges for increasing suicides among students. Driven by intense institutional commercialisation, these corporate colleges operate like highly competitive factories, they say.

“Corporate colleges prioritise exam outcomes over holistic student well‑being. Rote learning focuses entirely on scoring maximum marks for high‑stakes entrance exams like JEE and NEET. Daily or weekly testing regimes, combined with rigid grade requirements, offer zero room for error,” they noted. In addition, the micro‑managed daily schedules can extend past 12 hours, severely depriving students of sleep and personal time, further causing severe stress among students. Dividing students into sections based solely on their exam scores inflicts extreme psychological humiliation, and all these factors prompt students to commit suicide, they say.

Trained counsellors and psychiatrists required to support students dealing with stress and anxiety are conspicuously missing in corporate junior colleges across the state. This issue came to light during recent inspections conducted by the Board of Intermediate Education (BIE), which found several lapses in the appointment of trained counsellors in corporate colleges. Board officials stressed that appointing professionally trained counsellors in corporate colleges is essential, as most extreme incidents are reported from these institutions. Corporate colleges were found to have appointed senior faculty members as counsellors. However, officials pointed out that senior faculty cannot replace trained mental‑health professionals equipped to handle students who are stressed or depressed due to academic or personal reasons.