ഉന്നത സ്ഥാപനങ്ങളിലെ
കുട്ടികളുടെ ആത്മഹത്യ, പെബ്സ്
ശുപാർശകൾ നടപ്പിലാക്കാൻ
കേന്ദ്ര സർക്കാർ നിർദേശം 🙏🏿
============================
കുറച്ചു ദിവസം മുന്നെ റൂര്‍ക്കി ഐഐടിയില്‍ നിന്നും എനിക്കൊരു ഫോണ്‍ കാള്‍ വന്നു. അവിടത്തെ സൈക്കോളജി വിഭാഗത്തില്‍ നിന്നായിരുന്നു കാള്‍.പീപ്പിള്‍ ഫോര്‍ ബറ്റര്‍ സൊസൈറ്റി പ്രസിഡന്‍റ് ആണോ എന്ന ചോദ്യം കേട്ടപ്പോള്‍ തന്നെ കേന്ദ്ര വിദ്യാഭ്യാസ മന്ത്രിക്ക് നല്‍കിയ കത്തുമായി ബന്ധപ്പെട്ടാകും ഫോണ്‍ എന്ന് ഊഹിച്ചു. ഐഐടി,എന്‍ഐടി, ഐഐഎം തുടങ്ങിയ സ്ഥാപനങ്ങളില്‍ ഈയിടെയായി നടക്കുന്ന ആത്മഹത്യകളുമായി ബന്ധപ്പെട്ട് അയച്ചിരുന്ന കത്തില്‍ കാമ്പസുകളിലെ സൈക്കോളജി വിഭാഗം മെച്ചപ്പെടുത്തണമെന്നും ഓരോ വിദ്യാര്‍ത്ഥിക്കും ഒരു മെന്‍റര്‍ ഉണ്ടാകണമെന്നുമൊക്കെ ആവശ്യപ്പെട്ടിരുന്നു. (കത്ത് ചുവടെ ചേര്‍ക്കുന്നു.) എനിക്കേറെ സന്തോഷം തോന്നിയ വിവരമാണ് അവര്‍ കൈമാറിയത്. പീപ്പിള്‍ ഫോര്‍ ബറ്റര്‍ സൊസൈറ്റി മുന്നോട്ടുവച്ച നിര്‍ദ്ദേശങ്ങള്‍ കാമ്പസുകളില്‍ നടപ്പാക്കാന്‍ നടപടി സ്വീകരിക്കണം എന്നതായിരുന്നു കേന്ദ്രസര്‍ക്കാര്‍ നല്‍കിയിരിക്കുന്ന നിര്‍ദ്ദേശം. സന്തോഷവും അഭിമാനവും തോന്നിയ നിമിഷം.വരുന്ന ജൂലൈ ആഗസ്റ്റ് മാസങ്ങളില്‍ സൌകര്യപ്രദമാകുന്ന സമയത്ത് അവരുടെ അതിഥിയായി കാമ്പസ് സന്ദര്‍ശിക്കാനും അധികൃതര്‍ ആവശ്യപ്പെട്ടിട്ടുണ്ട്. സമൂഹത്തില്‍ വലിയ ചലനങ്ങള്‍ സൃഷ്ടിക്കാന്‍ കഴിയില്ലെങ്കിലും ചെറുതായ സംഭാവനകള്‍ ചെയ്യാന്‍ എന്‍ജിഓകള്‍ക്ക് കഴിയും എന്നതിന് ഒരുദാഹരണമായി ഞാനിതിനെ കാണുന്നു.
Dear Honorable Education Minister,
I am writing to you today with grave concerns about the mental health and well-being of students in India’s prestigious institutions of higher education, such as the IITs, NITs, and IIMs. In today's world, people, especially young people, face the most stress. In the world of competition, those who travel with big dreams and win are in everyone's mind. We need to have mechanisms to bring together a small group of people who fail these competitions. Suicides in our centers of higher education like IITs, NITs, IIMs etc. point to such inevitability. Getting admission in such institutes is the joy of conquering the Everest as far as a student is concerned and a great pride for parents and relatives. Actually, it can be said that a child starts trying for this from class 5 onwards. Special coaching centers are being run for them in many parts of the country. But there are those who are unable to survive the various pressures that come with the competitive exam and get exhausted. The campus is not as enticing up close as it looks from a distance.
When the girl comes to the groom's house after marriage and sees that her dreams are being shattered, she informs her parents or tolerates it as much as possible. The girl will be forced to hang on to the shame of what her parents will say to the society and relatives. When she can't, she commits suicide. A similar experience is happening in the campuses as well. Parents will force the child to stay there if they find that they cannot handle the pressure. Otherwise, the child will stay there and commit suicide, unable to cope with the pressure. Parent-affordable students drop out of campus just as parent-supported brides divorce. This situation needs to change.
In the last five years, there have been 62 suicides on high-profile campuses. 34 in IITs, 24 in NITs and four in IIMs. IITs and NITs, where high-tech studies are taking place, have seen more deaths. One reason may be that social life is not discussed there. Aren't IIMs a place where learning is a bit more social? It is noteworthy here that those who commit suicide mostly belong to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, OBCs and economically backward people.
The main reason for the suicides is the lack of free and fair communication between students, seniors, teachers and authorities in large campuses. There is no trading of minds beyond purely academic subjects. Large campuses are places where everyone is busy with their studies and teaching. There emotional issues lose their relevance. The truth is that teachers do not have the time or skills to analyze the mental state of every student. There is no serious discussion about it beyond an investigation and some suggestions after each disaster.
The reasons for suicide may be academic pressure, family background, personal reasons, financial problems, caste discrimination etc. Much of this does not stem from the campus, but from the individual's socio-socio-economic circumstances. Therefore, a joint approach of government, society, institutions and family is essential. Few formal systems exist for providing personal, cultural and psychological counseling to students. Counseling is provided online and offline while maintaining confidentiality. For this there are apps like Dost, Sathi and Mitr. Awareness classes and sensitization classes are conducted. Here there is a possibility that the student should come for counseling with interest. Many people are not ready for this. Therefore, beyond being a government system, this method has no heart.
In developed countries, very serious psychological services are provided. There, group and individual mental health assessment, counseling, consultation and treatment are done properly. Internationally accredited psychologists, psychiatrists, clinical therapists, mental health workers and social workers are part of it. Such an elaborate system needs to come up in larger campuses. It is necessary to educate others so that they can recognize why the benefit of reservation should be given to some and convince others of the need to move forward with those who have reached the benefit of reservation. It is necessary to realize why intellectual fluctuations occur and that each person has inherent merits and demerits and encourages maximum team work. A method of mentoring juniors by senior students would be beneficial. This mentorship can be beneficial for a first year student as he has a second year student as mentor and for a second year student , a third year student and like that.
Extracurricular activities and occasional counseling with the family may help improve the situation. The recently convened IIT Council has decided to provide multiple entry-exit option to the students. We fully support these efforts. It has been suggested to reduce academic stress and initiate efforts to avoid the fear of failure and rejection. Strict measures against discriminatory approaches have also been recommended. We urge you to take immediate action to address this issue and ensure the mental
health and well-being of our students. We must work together to create organic campuses where no smart child who can contribute a lot to not only India but also to the world will commit suicide.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
V.R.Ajith kumar
President,PEBS
M-8547243716
No comments:
Post a Comment