The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : `Object loss' makes them embrace death

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Sep 09, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

`Object loss' makes them embrace death

BANGALORE, SEPT. 8. The question of why young students should abruptly end their lives has set many academicians thinking.

The Vice-Chancellor of Bangalore University, M.S. Thimmappa, feels students are subjected to societal and parental pressures because they are given very few career options. These pressures often lead to suicides. The fixation with engineering and medical courses can be blamed.

"There are many options available like microbiology, biotechnology, commerce, management, electronic media and apparel technology. When students bank on only one option, the prospect of failure is high... they suffer what psychologists call `object loss'. Depression and suicides are related to this loss," says Dr. Thimmappa, who is a Professor of Psychology himself.

Although the University has no specific suicide prevention programmes, the Vice-Chancellor says its Centre for Psychological Counselling is fully equipped to offer support to students under stress. He advocates counselling centres at all educational institutions, starting with high schools. "Because subject choices happen at the stage. Such centres will help identify the career potential of a student so that he or she can pursue a field of real interest," he says.

Geetha Appachu, coordinator of a unique certificate course in guidance and counselling at Christ College, strongly supports this. "A trained counsellor is required at every school or college. They can identify even children who are getting depressed, thus preventing the possibility of a suicide," she says.

"Students who commit suicides do give clues... talking to their friends with whom they are a little more comfortable. A counsellor can track such clues and try to prevent a suicide," she feels. Some classmates of students who killed themselves recently said the victims appeared to be dejected and had lost interest in normal campus activities. A trained counsellor could have intervened at that stage. Fortunately, Ms. Appachu finds a positive trend in some city colleges where there is an increasing recognition of the need for counselling. "There is a high demand for trained counsellors from these colleges. Many institutions are asking for counsellors trained through our certificate course," she says. The course is open to teachers, non-governmental organisations, and even students interested in a career in counselling or social work.

While the elite schools and colleges cope with student suicides, no suicides have been reported among students of the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike's 33 high schools and 12 pre-university colleges, according to the BMP Education Officer, Nichala Prakash. Lower expectations by parents and students is not the only reason.

Corporate sponsorship has helped many BMP schools; 13 schools have been "adopted" by NGOs. The pass percentage has improved steadily from 24.56 in 2003 to 37.08 this year in schools and from 36.23 to 46 per cent in junior colleges. Ms. Prakash said that a meeting of heads of institutions will be held next week to direct them to take extra care of students who are depressed and need counselling.

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