On Independence Day morning, I was scrolling through the news and one particular headline made me pause. It read, ‘Chennai man found dead a day after NEET aspirant son dies by suicide’. This headline is one among the countless others I’ve been reading over the years. In fact, it is one among the 16 NEET-related suicides in Tamil Nadu, Mint reports. The National Crime Records Bureau, recorded over 35 student suicides per day in 2021. That is the average strength of a classroom in most schools. Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister, M.K. Stalin is also seeking a ban on the examination in the state. Among the myriad of reasons, 864 out of 10,000 suicides in were due to ‘failure in examination’, according to WION.
Yes, the numbers are appalling. But what are the factors underlying these statistics? Dafni, a BA student at CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru shares her experience, “My parents already decided that I will study MBBS when I grow up. I went for NEET classes in my 11th and 12th grade. When I finished my 12th, Covid began. My dad asked me to take a gap year and try for NEET.”
“I had online classes. It was one of the worst phases of my life. I didn’t have interest but I tried to study because my parents paid lakhs for the class. Everyday the institution would send 5 to 6 videos (Chemistry, botany, zoology and physics). The videos will be a minimum one to two hours long. I would have to watch all that in one day, prepare notes and study. I used to wake up at 3 am and sleep by 10 pm. The online class affected me a lot mentally. When I told my parents I don’t want to continue this, they spoke like I won’t get any other good jobs in future.”
Most Indian students would have heard a variation of the phrase, ‘Go for engineering or become a doctor, there is no scope for arts.’ This is despite the rising scope that humanities subjects possess. Dafni states, “Not just parents, even most of the schools promote only JEE and NEET. It’s the only career path presented to the students.” Forbes reports in 2020 that 20,00,000 on YouTube make six figure salaries, posting video or text-based content online regularly. Clearly, with platforms like YouTube and Instagram providing incomes to creators, what is a good and ‘stable’ profession is highly blurred. However, this mindset is prevalent in India due to negligible awareness about these options. Most government colleges in urban and rural areas too have limited options to choose from, which is another obstacle if one wants to break the glass ceiling.
Hida, a student at Presidency University, Bengaluru, says, “You get trained from the very beginning as a child to score a certain grade and then that has to be continued. You are always in the spot to do better than last time and be first.
“I think people are obsessed towards academics because there are these certain jobs or subjects that are considered good and that makes it really competitive among all. If your kid takes a certain job or a certain grade in an exam, that’s directly related to reputation. Competitive exams are given too much importance to showcase your ability to achieve something. So it’s not just about achieving something, it’s more about achieving the best compared to others.”
What is the answer, then? Will ridding the country of competitive exams altogether resolve the burden of academic pressure? Or is a more holistic approach required? The Tamil Nadu Government’s move towards banning NEET in the state is not a one-all solution. Apart from coaching centres, it is ultimately going to affect equality in admitting students to higher institutions. The very reason why we value academics so much has to be examined.
In a society where ‘Log kya kahenge?’ is built into our psyche, a reputed profession like an engineer, doctor. means stable employment for parents and children alike. What drives academic pressure is a complex interplay of factors, stemming from how we view academics as a society. It is thus time to rethink our obsession with academics, since workplaces nowadays look for skills beyond academic achievement.. The world around us is changing, and so should we. We also need to think about the lasting psychological impacts students face as a result of academic pressure. Above all, we need to acknowledge that we are more than just numbers.
References
The anti-NEET movement in Tamil Nadu is misguided | Mint (livemint.com)
2 Million Creators Make 6-Figure Incomes On YouTube, Instagram, Twitch Globally (forbes.com)
