Arouse The Children From The Nightmare They Hide

– Srotaswini 

Are our students really ‘okay’? What does being Okay even mean? 

Reports show that student suicide cases in educational institutes have skyrocketed in the last few years.

INDIA

NCRB (NATIONAL CRIME RECORD BUREAU) is India’s primary official source for suicide statistics. According to NCRB records, student suicide accounted for ≈ 8.1% of all suicide cases in the country in 2023; that is, 13,892 student suicide cases. A report notes that in India, student suicide rates rose about 65% over a decade (2013–2023).

International data

A multinational study involving 5,572 respondents revealed significant levels of mental health struggles across 12 countries. Over half of the participants (50.1%) exceeded the distress threshold on the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). Furthermore, ≈ 29% of students reported experiencing suicidal ideation and around 7% indicated previous attempts.

UK

ONS (Office for National Statistics) identified 1,108 higher education student suicide cases between Aug 2016–Jul 2023. That is ≈ 6.9 deaths per 100,000 students.

USA

Reports say from 2007 to 2018 student suicide rates have increased by 57%. A CDC (Centre for Disease Control) report shows that among high school students:

18.8% had seriously considered attempting.

15.7% had made a detailed plan to attempt.

8.9% had attempted once or more.

NIMH reports emphasize that student suicide has claimed over 49,300 lives in the US in 2023.

The prevalence of suicidal ideation is the highest among female students and queer students specifically (LGB) students. Black students had the highest prevalence of suicide attempts.

Student suicide rate in South East Asian Countries:

China

Among adolescents, 17.7% report suicidal ideation, and 2.7% attempted suicide, and among college students 1.9% attempted.

South Korea

South Korea has the highest student suicide rates in South East Asia. A survey of 2022 indicated that 20.3% of middle and high schoolers had suicidal thoughts in the past 12 months. 9.4% of students have actually died by suicide.

What really goes on!

1. Academic and performance pressure

Competitive academic environments and perfectionist culture create chronic stress, anxiety, depression and even identity crisis. Gradually, achievement becomes synonymous with self-worth; causing failure triggers and hopelessness.

2. Isolation

Relocation, cultural displacement and limited family contact heighten loneliness. Inadequate counselling allows depressive symptoms to escalate.

3. Exploitation, Abuse, Rackets

Studies by UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes) and National Criminal Bureau reveals that coercive groups exploit educational networks for sexual, financial or labour coercion. Victims – often young, indebted or socially isolated – are drawn into exploitative relationships, such as ‘quid pro quo’ sexual harassments or fraudulent employment. Sexual exploitation and sextortion cause trauma, shame, disassociation, disgust, even guilt; all major drivers for suicide. 

Economic coercion through illegal relationships or pyramid schemes fosters helplessness.

Digital grooming and trafficking use campus social media and student forums to recruit or exploit vulnerable individuals – students.

4. Institutional betrayal and stigma

When educational institutes conceal and downplay reports of harassment, exploitation, extortion, abuse or coercion; survivors often experience what Freyd (2013) describes as institutional betrayal. The resulting sense of abandonment magnifies trauma symptoms – fear, guilt, shame, helplessness and pushes the victim towards suicidal thinking.

5. Intersectional vulnerability

Marginalised students – by gender, caste, sexuality or migrant status – face compound discrimination, lower access to support, high risk of abuse and extreme bullying.

All of these lead to suicidal tendencies.

When education becomes a place of coercion, exploitation, abuse or silence it ceases to nurture and begins to rot. These deaths are not isolated tragedies but warnings of structural decay. We have to save our students – not lead them to kill themselves.