BENGALURU: Two students of an upscale CBSE school in Dommasandra, east Bengaluru, allegedly ended their lives by jumping from their respective apartments on April 1.
One of them was preparing for class 12 exams, while the other had just been promoted to class 12. The reasons are yet to be ascertained. Both did not leave behind any suicide note.
The first incident happened at a posh residential layout in Bellandur, where the teen jumped from the terrace of his five-floor apartment complex at 12.30am.
His acquaintances suspect he took the extreme step as he did not meet his expectations in the recent Joint Entrance Examination (JEE).
"The incident has come as a shocker to us. We do not know the reason, but we heard he was not happy with his JEE scores," said the school management.
According to his friends, he left no hint about his plans. Around midnight, his parents realised the boy was missing from his room and he reportedly jumped from the terrace while they were searching for him. His body was taken to his hometown in Mangaluru.
In the second incident, the student jumped from the balcony of his fifth-floor flat, again in Bellandur.
"He was a humanities student and is believed to have ended his life during an online class in the morning. He had reportedly spoken to his parents earlier about an angelic force driving him. His parents are in a state of shock," said a teacher
The boy had joined the school when he was in class 9. He was to turn 17 in May.
School conducts counselling sessions
The school organised counselling sessions for the rest of the students. “Lack of face-to-face interactions has been a major setback. We have told students to reach out to us whenever they feel the need,” said the principal.
Counsellors agree that lack of offline learning has affected the mental health of students.
“The absence of direct interface with teachers, too much of learning through audio and video media and lack of socialising have impacted children. This is in addition to the already existing anxieties about exams, academic future and may be, even finances. With the pandemic, there is no mechanism to let out emotions and a lack of expression affects youngsters,” said Poorva Ranade, a psychologist.
According to her, it’s important for parents to inculcate the thought among children that it’s OK to lose a year in case he/she is unable to cope. “Confusion, chaos and insecurity generated due to the pandemic are seeping in at all levels of society. The worry is also because we don’t know how long this will go on,” she added.