In our Asian society parents have the last say in deciding the professional career of a child much of the time if not in the all cases. Observing the regular working class in Pakistan, parents try to persuade kids to get admission in private schools or government universities to become specialist, engineer or a business person in accordance with the desires of their folks. Guardians set objectives for their youngsters to accomplish. If the child fails to meet their parents’ expectation or societal criteria of success, the child is not only scolded by everyone every time and whole year but also left alone to face disappointment of not accomplishing achievements. This overwhelming pressure of continuous grades attainment controls his sentiments and lastly makes its cost for his life.
In Pakistan, the top scholastic reason for undergraduate suicidal thoughts and actions is disappointments in accomplishing.
Parents need their kids to be first, teachers need them to win trophies, name and competition for the school, and society continues to advise them that success and assurance for a protected future relies upon the evaluations they accomplish in the tests.
Suicide rate in undergrads has increased in Pakistan during recent years and notwithstanding the reality, official insights are as yet unclear. Self-destruction is the regular unnatural reason for death and the cases are frequently not detailed subject to social disgrace. In this way, diagnosing and covering such cases is normally difficult.
About 68 cases were reported by 11 prestigious e-papers over the period of eight years (i-e 2010-2017). Suicide rate was reported higher in male (76.5%) than females (23.5%). Of them 42.6% were from schools, 23.5% universities and 22.1% from colleges.
Adopted methods for suicides were hanging (33.8%), gunfire (27.9%), poison (13.2%), jumping from height (5.9%), drink (4.4%), and wrist cutting (1.5%). Revealed cases were from Punjab (52.9%), Sindh (23.6%) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (8.9%).
Common reasons were disappointment in tests (23.6%), scolded by guardians (11.8%), disappointment in love (8.8%), home-based issues (5.9%), cruel behavior of educationalists (5.9%), life disappointment (4.4%), ragging (2.9%) and poverty (1.9%).
In 2018, Suicides among Pakistani college students were on the rise, 4 students committed suicides inside a range of Chitral a far off area of KPK soon after the declaration of the middle (higher secondary school) results. As per the reports every one of the four pupils committed suicide for not accomplishing the result they or their parents were expecting.
According to Global Statistics, almost 800,000 individuals bite the dust by suicide every year. Self-destruction is the second driving reason for death for those matured 15-24 years. The commonness of suicide considerations, arranging and actions is fundamentally higher among growing 18-29 age than among grown-ups matured 30+.
Examinations are very significant for testing students’ abilities in Pakistan. Students, especially high school, undergraduate and graduate students, perceive that their success in future depends mainly on their high grades. However, testing can produce anxiety in students and can lower students’ self-esteem, and increases their fear of failure. The situation becomes more difficult for students when their families pressurise them to attain higher grades in their exams.
A student works hard, devotes a tremendous amount of his or her youthful energy and time for a target and when he falls short of his expectations he can’t accept this reality, he is unable to analyse what has happened, is overtaken by shock and disbelief and puts all the blame on himself. This false sense of an irreversible and irreparable loss pushes him to the point of snuffing out the candle of his own life.
No proper research has been done by any organisation in Pakistan regarding issue of suicide in students due to parents and failure in exams pressure. However, the Higher Education Commission is regulating the syllabus and the rules and regulations regarding course books, teachers teaching style and the burden of completion of course. Still it is not close to address the increase of suicide in students and need further interest of government and different organisations.
SAVE was one of the nation’s first organisations of US and UN dedicated to the prevention of suicide. Our work is based on the foundation and belief that suicide is preventable and everyone has a role to play in preventing suicide. Through raising public awareness, educating communities, and equipping every person with the right tools, we know we can SAVE lives.
To work on the issue is important because the parents and failure in exams pressure cause serious life threatening consequences. Therefore exceptional consideration needs to be given to the students’ mindfulness and pressure they are facing, in regards to the significance of their future and success and survival in society, not at the cost of giving life.
