Plus Two Failure Claims Two

By J Shanmugha Sundaram /Published: 09th May 2015

VELLORE: Depressed at not having cleared the plus two public exams, two students of the Government Higher Secondary School at Nellorepet in Gudiyattam taluk committed suicide here on Thursday.

Their death sent shock waves among teachers and officials of the Education Department in the district, which witnessed a drop in pass percentage by 3.8 percent.

Gunasekaran

The students - J Raghu (18) of Upparapalli village and N Gunasekaran (17) of Mungampattu village - took the extreme step on Thursday afternoon.

Gudiyattam Taluk Police have registered a case and began an inquiry into their death.

Raghu, son of Jayapal, a coolie, was found hanging from a tree along the kanaar on the outskirt of the village at about 2.30 pm. His family members planned to cremate his body but on information, police attached to the Gudiyattam Taluk Station rushed to the village and recovered his body and sent it to the Government Hospital for post-mortem.

The other student Gunasekaran, son of Nagarajan - a watchman in a tannery at Ambur - too was disheartened at not being able to clear the exam. After seeing the result online, Gunasekaran  hanged himself in his house when his parents were away at work. His body too was recovered by the police and sent to the GH for autopsy.

Raghu

“Raghu failed in Physics, Chemistry and Tamil subjects, while Gunasekaran flunked in Mathematics. They were average students,” a teacher of the school told Express. 

As many as 481 students appeared for the public exam from the school. Of them, 236 failed. Many students failed in Commerce, Accountancy and Mathematics. “Special squads, chief invigilator, hall supervisors and flying squads have the mistaken notion that government school students come with chits for exams. Several students are unable to perform well as they are under stress over being monitored,” said the teacher and added that three students from the school were caught for copying.

Senior officials in the Education Department said that 42,220 students appeared for the exam from the Vellore and Tirupattur Education districts. Of them, 7,586 students failed to clear the exams. The district slipped from 28th rank in the state with 85.17 percent in 2014 to 31st rank with 81.39 percent.

“We have been dissuading students from taking such extreme steps. We have also been educating them about the immediate re-exams. But, it is shocking to see students taking their lives despite there being an opportunity to clear the subject in the immediate re-examination,” said an official in the education department.

Parents and family members should motivate students to remain determined to clear the subjects in the re-examinations, said police officials.

Edu System Needs Change, Say Experts

VELLORE: In a bid to wean away students from taking their lives after failing to qualify public exams, educationists and experts have sought a change in the education system that currently lays stress on marks thereby killing creativity and individuality. On account of the mark-oriented system, the young generation is drifting away from rationalised ideas and thoughts, they opine.

The worst part of the present education system is that it is forcing several students to kill themselves over their failure in academics, said S N Janardhanan, State General Secretary of Vocation Teachers Kazhagam.

Describing the students’ suicides over exam failure as an impulsive behaviour, Dr S Lakshmanan, Psychiatrist in the Government Vellore Medical College Hospital, said, “Students lack coping skills. They are scared to face failures. Fear of parents and inability to match their expectations are other factors that drive them to take the extreme step.”

Spate of Student Suicides Shock TN

Tamil Nadu witnessed a spate of student suicides ahead of and after the Class XII state board exam results were declared.

In Tiruchy, D Aishwariya, an inmate of Annai Sathya Government Orphanage, run by the District Social Welfare department set herself ablaze after a quarrel with her mother on April 30. Following her examinations, the girl went home in Pirattiyur and stayed with her mother and sisters. On April 30, she had a tiff with her mother and later reportedly depressed over her exam performance set herself ablaze.

In Vellore district, Raghu, son of Jayapal, a labourer, was found hanging from a tree on Thursday. He had failed in three subjects. In another incident, Gunasekaran, after seeing the results online, hanged himself in his house after his parents went out for work. He had failed in Mathematics.

Senior Education Department officials said 42,220 students appeared for the exam from Vellore and Tirupattur education districts of whom 7,586 failed.

In Thanjavur, a student who failed in five of six subjects committed suicide. According to police, the student jumped before the Mayiladuthurai-Tiruchy passenger train on Thursday night and died on the spot. The victim was identified as E Pradeep Varman (18), son of a retired police sub-inspector in Thanjavur.

In Tirunelveli, a student from Ayikudi committed suicide by jumping into a well on Thursday. Police said K Punithavalli (18), student of government school, Sambavar Vadakarai, was shocked after she came to know that she had failed in two subjects. Depressed, the girl ended her life.

In Madurai, Class XII student Ajith’s playful behaviour ended in tragedy. Fearing he might fail, Ajith consumed insecticide two days before the result believing it would distract his parents, and they wouldn’t scold him even if he failed. He died on Tuesday noon.

In Theni, Ajay (17), a student of Government School, committed suicide by consuming poisonous seeds. But, he passed the exam with 674 marks.

Meanwhile, two Class XII girl students, upset over their poor score, attempted suicide in Nagercoil.