No rank list, but no relief from stress either

By Sinduja Jane  |  Express News Service  |   Published: 13th May 2017 02:19 AM  |  

S J Megha (in uniform), who scored 1,191 marks, being greeted by friends at Sethu Baskara School in Ambattur on Friday

CHENNAI: ONE would have expected the pressure on teenagers to have come down this year with the abolition of the rank system. However, statistics from government 104 helpline paints a different picture.
On Friday, it received over 10,600 calls from students, parents, friends and relatives seeking psychological counselling and general enquiries to cope with suicidal tendencies due to failure in exams or not being able to live up to expectations.

“The students who scored less marks were worried if they could get medical or engineering seat. Most of them worried whether their marks along with NEET score would be sufficient to get them medical seat,” said B Elayaraja, counselling psychologist at 104 helpline.

“A girl from Vellore district locked herself up in her room after she scored less marks. Then her parents called 104 and passed on the phone to her through a window. After counselling, she opened the door and came out,” said Elayaraja.

The counsellor also said there were many students who scored over 1,000, but were not satisfied. “One girl had stood first in class in the school revision exam, so she was expecting good marks. She scored around 1,100 in the boards, but was not satisfied.  She was highly depressed,” added Elayaraja. “Likewise Kavitha*, a teenager, from a rural village who scored 1,050 marks. She attempted suicide by consuming poison claiming she did not score the expected marks,” said B Prabhudoss, regional manager (Tamil Nadu) of GVK-EMRI.

The counsellors also said there were calls from parents after their children walked away from home after seeing the results. “A father called up after his son scored less marks and walked away from home. He claimed the boy switched off his phone after boarding a bus. We suggested lodging of a police complaint,” said Elayaraja.

Most students had failed in one or more subjects. Most of the teenagers also worried about their career options. They need counselling on career guidence. That will release stress, said another counsellor. However, the overall stress on students was comparatively less this year, feels Prabhudoss. The helpline offered 24x7 counselling for students on the day of results were announced.

*Name changed

 

Suicide bid before results were out

A girl awaiting her results set herself on fire even before they were declared. The girl who studied at a private school at Butt Road in Chennai was waiting for the results while her parents were upstairs in their residence at Ramapuram.  Around 9.35 am, she allegedly entered the kitchen, poured kerosene and set herself ablaze. Her parents took her to Kilpauk Medical College. She sustained 100 per cent burns.