Let’s go beyond marks, focus on children’s well-being

A disturbing set of figures recently reported in newspapers revealed a sharp rise in suicides among school students, particularly those in Classes VIII to XII. Adolescents at this stage now account for some of the steepest increases in suicides in the past decade. The tragedy is no longer confined to exam hubs like Kota; it is spreading across classrooms across the country.

A few days ago, news broke from IIT-Kanpur that a BTech student was found dead in his hostel room; his body remained undiscovered for three days. It was yet another chilling reminder of a silent epidemic that India has long refused to confront, the surge in student suicides, from secondary schools to the hostels of our most prestigious institutions.

The grim numbers

Between 2013 and 2023, student suicides rose by 65 per cent, far outpacing overall suicide trends. A recent survey found that 12 per cent of the students admitted to suicidal thoughts, with some even attempting to act on them. Within the IIT system, over 115 suicides have been reported since 2005, with 37 of them in the last five years. Behind each number lies a young life extinguished, and a system that failed to listen to his/her silent cries.

Pressure from the start

For schoolchildren, especially in Classes VIII to XII, life often narrows down to a single cycle: study, test, repeat. A teenager’s entire identity is tied to board exams or competitive tests like NEET and JEE. Failure is treated not as a stumble, but as a collapse of one’s entire future.

Kota, India’s coaching capital, has become a symbol of this toxic culture. Each year, teenagers leap from balconies or hang themselves in hostel rooms after poor scores in practice tests. Instead of questioning the system, society mourns briefly and then pushes the next batch harder.

For those who clear these hurdles and enter IITs, the pressure rarely eases; it often intensifies. Every student was a topper back home, and the relentless competition fosters exhaustion, imposter syndrome and a suffocating culture of comparison. Layered onto this are caste discrimination, financial stress and social isolation, making despair a constant undercurrent.

Institutional responses so far have been cosmetic. For instance, some IITs have proposed replacing ceiling fans in hostels, since hanging is the most common method of suicide. While such measures may restrict immediate means, they do little to address the deeper despair driving students to such extremes.

The missing safety net

India’s mental health infrastructure for students remains woefully inadequate. Most schools lack a full-time counsellor. Colleges employ too few counsellors, and they are often perceived as inaccessible or token appointments. Stigma ensures that many students hesitate to seek help — a damning reflection of how vulnerability is still equated with weakness.

Parents, too, shoulder a part of the responsibility. In the relentless pursuit of marks and ranks, many forget that their children are human beings, not machines. Unrealistic expectations and constant comparisons can be as damaging as the pressure within classrooms.

Diet impacts mental health

An often overlooked factor in this crisis is the role of diet. During exam stress, many students skip meals, binge on junk food or rely on stimulants like caffeine and energy drinks. This nutritional neglect directly affects their mental health.

Research shows that deficiencies in omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins, vitamin D, iron and zinc are strongly linked with depression and anxiety, two major risk factors for suicidal thoughts. Diets rich in processed food and sugar worsen mood swings and fatigue, while balanced diets of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and legumes strengthen emotional resilience.

Traditional Indian diets such as dal, vegetables, curd and seasonal fruits provide steady energy and nutrients vital for mental stability. By contrast, fast food and packaged snacks erode both physical health and the capacity to handle stress. Nutrition is not a side issue but a critical piece of the student mental health puzzle.

What must change

If India truly wishes to protect its much-touted “demographic dividend”, a cultural reset is essential:

• Embed mental health in curriculum: Teach resilience, stress management and empathy alongside academics.
• Strengthen counselling infrastructure: Ensure meaningful student-counselor ratios in every institution.
• Educate parents: Help them recognise warning signs, lower unrealistic expectations and prioritise wellbeing over grades.
• Regulate coaching centres: Impose workload limits, mandatory rest breaks and psychological support.
• Promote healthy lifestyle habits: Encourage balanced diets, regular exercise and proper sleep as part of emotional well-being.
• End the silence: Mental health must be openly discussed in schools, families, and media, not whispered about after tragedy strikes.

A preventable tragedy

Every student suicide is not merely a personal loss but a collective failure: of families that prize grades over happiness, of institutions that celebrate toppers while ignoring breakdowns, and of policymakers who treat education as an assembly line rather than a human journey.

The most painful truth is that many of these deaths were preventable. Warning signs such as withdrawal, hopelessness or talk of failure are too often dismissed as “teenage moodiness”. Compassion, timely support and even something as simple as proper nutrition could have saved countless lives.

India rightly celebrates the brilliance of its youth and the achievements of its IIT graduates. But the shine of success cannot conceal the shadows of despair growing among our children. Unless we act urgently and empathetically, our classrooms and hostels risk becoming graveyards of lost potential.

It is time we stopped asking all the time, “How many marks did you get?” and started asking, “How are you feeling today?”

Mansimran K Randhawa is Asst Professor, GSSDGS Khalsa College, Patiala.

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